


All Things Undone

by epeeblade



Category: Agent Carter (TV), Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV), Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/M, Time Travel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-20
Updated: 2015-11-23
Packaged: 2018-03-18 16:59:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 14
Words: 23,925
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3577056
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/epeeblade/pseuds/epeeblade
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Peggy walks into one of Howard Stark's inventions, she walks out into the twenty-first century.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Not your mother's technology

As usual, Jarvis had been the one to call her. Peggy could hear the worry in his voice even as he extended her an invitation to “Mr. Stark’s new workshop.” This was more than just a visit. What had Howard done now?

“How long has he been in there?” She asked in a low voice as Jarvis opened the door to let her in. 

“I believe 36 hours. Do try to get him to sleep.” Jarvis ushered her in.

Howard had destroyed his ‘bad babies’ - every single one of them, Peggy had made sure of that. But he apparently couldn’t stop tinkering. She didn’t quite blame him. He had the kind of mind that needed distraction, being far too intelligent for his own good.

“Peg, you made it!” Howard looked up from some contraption, his eyes wild with lack of sleep. She suspected him of taking something to stay awake, just based on the status of his pupils. 

“Of course, Howard.” She kept her voice low and even. Perhaps she could get him to listen to her. “Jarvis said you wanted to show me your new invention?”

“More than just show you. I need you.” He gestured with a screw driver. “Stand over there.”

She hesitated, knowing better than to simply step into the marked off circle beneath some sort of wired cage contraption hanging from the ceiling. “Tell me what it does, Howard.”

Howard adjusted some buttons on the square shaped device. She could see several wires in various colors leading to the cage structure that he wanted her to stand under. “I think I have a way of finding him, Peg.”

She stilled. There was no need to ask who he meant. “Steve’s dead, Howard. You know that.”

“It doesn’t mean he has to stay at the bottom of the ocean,” Howard said firmly.

“And how is this supposed to find him?” She gestured toward his invention.

He finally looked back at her. “Resonance. I need to find a way to create resonance to something or someone that was in close contact with Steve. You were in close contact with him shortly before he got on that plane. If I can calibrate my new radar to that resonance, I should be able to pick it up during flight.” 

It sounded rather far fetched to her. Peggy touched his arm. “If I stand under there and let you calibrate your machine, will you go and get some rest afterward? Please, Howard.”

She’d learned the hard way to let Steve go. This obsession of Howard’s was not healthy. It would damage him in the end. 

“All right.” Howard capitulated. “I’ll need time to analyze the readings before we can start looking, so yes, I will take a nap before I do that.”

“Very good, sir,” Jarvis said. Peggy was glad he was there to make sure Howard kept his promise.

She gestured to the device. “What do I need to do?”

“Just stand right here.” Howard took her by the arm and guided her beneath the dangling object, in the center of the circle drawn on the floor in tape. “You might feel a tickling sensation.”

Peggy hesitated. While she appreciated Howard’s genius, sometimes his inventions didn’t do exactly as he planned. “Tickling?”

“Just as the vita rays go over you. It’s a mild form of radiation, perfectly safe.”

“Of course it is.” She stepped into position and held her breath. Steve had been exposed to vita rays during his transformation. It couldn’t be that bad.

Howard scampered over to his control board. “Jarvis, hit the power, please.”

She heard a snap, like that of a circuit connecting. Peggy closed her eyes against brightness too much to bear. A prickling sensation rose up her arms. It felt like something squeezed her from the inside, and her lungs strained for air.

By the time she could breathe again, the light had gone.She opened her eyes and blinked away blurred vision. 

She could make out Howard’s fuzzy form, but hadn’t he been standing to her left moments before? And where had Jarvis gone?

“You’re not Howard.” Peggy’s vision cleared and she instinctively reached for her weapon. But she’d put down her purse before entering into Howard’s workshop for safety reasons.

As she spoke, Peggy realized this wasn’t Howard’s lab either. Had his device transported her elsewhere? _Damn it, Howard._

“And apparently Dad invented interactive holograms too. Why am I not surprised?” The man poked at what Peggy recognized as Howard’s device, however it had now been attached to a slim square by a collection of wires.

His words brought her up short for a moment. There was something of Howard in his face, though he wore an abbreviated beard oddly groomed instead of just a moustache. But Howard wasn’t old enough to have a son this age.

“Excuse me, can you try speaking to me?” She stepped out from under the metal frame hanging haphazardly from the ceiling. 

As she moved, she bumped into the long table between them, jostling it slightly. That had the man jumping back. “JARVIS, do a scan, that is not a hologram.”

“Jarvis?” She looked around, half expecting him to appear.

Instead a voice filled the room, seeming to come from nowhere and everywhere. “Sir, there appears to be an intruder in your lab, though I have no indication how she arrived there.”

“Nice job sounding the alarm.”

“To be fair, her presence was a bit startling.”

“We deal with people who teleport from outer space, JARVIS, I think that calls for an upgrade.”

The man continued to argue with the voice coming from the speakers. If she listened hard, there was something of the Jarvis she knew in the proper tones of that voice, but it wasn’t quite right. 

“The only utterance of energy came from the device you were examining.”

The man didn’t reply. He had narrowed his eyes at her before finally addressing her again. “I know you. You’re…”

“...Peggy?!” An unnoticed door had opened, and a dead man stood there.

She swallowed hard. Had Howard’s machine knocked her unconscious, into this warped dreamworld? “Steve. This is impossible.”

Her subconscious had created a perfect duplicate. Blue eyes that could never hide a thing from Peggy stared back at her. That square jaw worked, as if he couldn’t bring himself to speak either. She stared at those wide shoulders, filling out a shirt that was far too small for him. 

“Tony, what is this? You said you were going to look through some of your father’s old things…”

Tony must be the other man. He only shrugged. “And these are Dad’s old inventions that I never got the chance to really poke at before. I flipped this one on and poof, she appeared.”

“Is she real?”

“She is standing right here.” Peggy all but stomped her foot, irritated. She wanted to cross the room, to touch, and see if Steve felt warm beneath her fingertips. “And she would very much like an explanation, please. Steve, you died two years ago. Your plane went down in the ice.”

His face went very still. Something had changed in him, she realized. He wasn’t entirely the man she knew. “Peggy, what year is it?”

“1946,” she answered, not giving it a second thought.

But of course, that was it. Howard wasn’t old enough to have a son Tony’s age, not at all. She’d read the Time Machine as a girl, and thought it a lot of rubbish then - of all the ways Wells could have explored travelling through time, and he chose that?

“But it’s not, is it?” She corrected herself. “That doesn’t explain how you are here.”

“It’s 2015. Two years ago they fished me out of the ice, and brought me back.”

“He thawed quite nicely apparently. Which is odd, because I can’t get chicken breasts to do that same thing.” Tony butted into the conversation, but he had done something to make flashing panels of light appear in front of him, and he stared at those.

“Tony.” Steve’s voice had an edge to it.

“It’s her.” Tony responded. “Jarvis compared her scans to data on file. I can’t explain how or why, but it’s her.”

Steve finally stepped into the lab, coming straight for her. She didn’t --couldn’t-- move.

“Cap, before you get too invested, if my dad somehow did manage to invent time travel...she has to go back.”

Steve took her by the hand. “Thank you for that information. But she doesn’t have to go back right now, right?”

She held her breath waiting for the answer. 

“I’m not even sure how.”

“Then we’ll worry about that later. If you need us we’ll be in my apartment.” Steve tugged and she went willingly, feeling half the time like she was about to fall.

“All Stark bedrooms are stocked with a variety of amenities…” Tony’s voice followed them out of the room, into a bare hallway that held nothing but an elevator that opened at their approach.

If this was her first glimpse of the future, Peggy could only find it rather dull and colorless. 

Steve ushered her into the lift, which closed without so much as a by your leave. She opened her mouth to speak but that voice through the intercom spoke first.

“Captain Rogers, Mr. Stark would like to remind you to take care what you tell Ms. Carter of the future. He makes reference to a Star Trek episode, but I’m not quite certain it’s one you’ve seen yet.”

Steve’s lips played at a smile. “Thank you, JARVIS. A little privacy, please?”

“Certainly, sir.”

The doors to the lift opened, although Peggy could swear they hadn’t moved at all. “I admit to being a bit confused.” 

He squeezed her hand tighter. “Don’t worry about it. If we have to send you back to your time soon, let’s just enjoy this gift.”

She swallowed down tears. It wouldn’t due to cry, not now. Peggy licked her lips and followed Steve into another hallway. He touched his hand to a panel in the wall, and another door opened. His apartment, she presumed.

Peggy stepped into a room as large as Howard Stark’s lobby. Like everything she’d seen so far, it lacked life. Oh, sure it looked shiny and luxurious, and her heels dragged on carpet so thick she could feel it, but none of this looked like Steve. “I gather you just moved in.”

Steve laughed. “It’s a gift from Tony. An apartment for each of us. I just came back here to ask him to do something for me…”

“Whatever it is has something to do with Howard’s inventions, I suppose?” She let go of his hand and stepped away. Peggy needed some distance.

Part of her questioned if this were actually happening. Maybe she was unconscious on Howard’s floor coming up with this fabulous hallucination.

Windows took up the entirety of one wall, and as she stood before them, Peggy realized the skyline of the city looked exactly as she remembered it. But that couldn’t be right.

“These aren’t actually windows.” Steve said. “They’re...pictures, of the city how I remember it. I think Tony was trying to be nice. He goes for the big gestures.”

“Sounds like his father.”

“Don’t tell him that.”

She took a deep breath and touched the ‘windows.’ It felt like glass beneath her fingertips, and if Steve hadn’t mentioned otherwise, she’d never have known. Perhaps it was best she didn’t know what truly lurked beyond these walls. Not if she had to go home and pretend not to remember her glimpse of the future.

“I went to the Stork Club,” she said, embarrassed at the way her voice caught. “It was silly, because I knew you weren’t going to be there.”

She’d sat in the corner, watching the socialites at the bar and comforted herself with the thought that Steve would have hated this place. 

“I still haven’t gone dancing.” His words were whispered behind her ear.

Peggy shivered and turned around, slowly, so slowly. He cupped her face between his hands and leaned in for a kiss. 

Heat flared between them, in a way it never had the chance to before. If this was going to be their only moment together, Peggy would pack away each memory, and savor it for the rest of her days. 

Steve tasted like freedom, and possibly mint. She put her hands in his hair, memorizing the feel of the soft strands against her fingers. 

The kiss turned from tentative to forceful. Steve pushed her back until Peggy’s back hit the wall. She gasped, inhaling pure Steve. 

Desire pooled between her legs, and for once she didn’t have to deny herself. She slid her hands under Steve’s t-shirt, feeling the hard muscles beneath the smooth skin. 

Steve pulled away, a blush staining his cheeks. For a moment she saw that skinny boy she knew back, well, now it was over 70 years ago, wasn’t it? 

“Are we? I mean, do you want to?”

She laughed, the joy bubbling up and overflowing. “Without a doubt.”

“Then we need, uh, in the bedroom, I think Tony left us…”

“Steve. I went to war. I know what french letters are.”

He grinned, that same familiar smile she remembered. She took his hand, and he led the way, marching into the bedroom like the battlefield. Inside she caught a glimpse of a duffel on a chair, and some toiletries on a dresser. So Steve hadn’t been here long at all. There would be time to parse that later.

Right now there was a bed that was at least the size of her first apartment, and Steve brandishing a long strip of foil packets. 

She was too dignified to pounce, but she might have leapt at him. 

The sheets felt like silk against her naked skin, but they couldn’t compare to Steve’s body against hers. Clothes melted away, everything melted away, until they were two entwined lovers. 

They fit together. She’d wondered, how they would have managed. But they laughed, and made mistakes, and tried again. 

She pulled his hair, and shuddered in his arms. He stilled, and everything got very quiet then. Her eyes fluttered as Steve pulled the covers back over them. She felt languid, her body relaxed and sated. Peggy fought sleep.

If this were just a dream, would she wake up if she fell asleep?


	2. Thrift Shop

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peggy meets the Avengers.

A soft chime woke Steve from his doze. He hadn’t meant to drift off, but something about having Peggy tucked against his body had lulled him into a sense of safety. Her presence here was a miracle. They had a second chance, and he finally felt a sense of closure for the gaping wound that opened when Fury had first told him how long he’d been frozen.

Funny, he had the sudden urge to talk to Peggy about this - older Peggy, with her moments of sharpness despite her memory loss. Maybe that’s why she had never mentioned this trip to the future.

“Go ahead, Jarvis.” He finally answered the chime. Jarvis was nothing if not polite. 

“I don’t mean to disturb you, sir. Ms Potts has arranged for a delivery of clothing for Ms. Carter. It is outside your apartment door.”

Steve pushed himself up on his elbows. When did Pepper have time to do that? He reached for his watch and winced when he realized two hours had passed. 

"Also, I am to extend an invitation to the common room for lunch when you are, ah, decent."

Jarvis sounded like he was quoting someone. "Thank you, Jarvis."

Steve leaned over, unable to keep himself from kissing Peggy before he got out of bed. She stirred sleepily, and he wished they could spend the entire afternoon like this.

"Not a dream, then."

"Unless I'm dreaming too."

Certainly, recent events seemed more like the stuff of nightmares. Steve had just learned that Bucky was alive - had been horribly tortured and manipulated for over 70 years, but alive. He’d torn down the infested creature that was SHIELD, the organization that had brought him back and given him purpose. 

That’s why he had sucked it up and asked Tony to look at Howard’s old inventions, to see if he could find a clue. Steve had told him it was to find Bucky, but maybe, just maybe, he was looking for a clue as to who he was now?

And now Peggy. Beautiful, brilliant Peggy had come out of the past like none of the past few years had even happened. She looked just as he remembered, not the shell he knew now.

The smile slipped from his face as he felt a stab of guilt about that. “Pepper has apparently sent over some clothes for you. I guess they think you’re going to be here for a while.”

“Who’s Pepper?” Peggy slipped out of the bed, taking one of the sheets with her. Her hair was delightfully mussed and Steve wanted to run his fingers through it.

More, his hands ached to hold a sketch book and immortalize this image forever. “She’s Tony’s girlfriend. I think you’d like her.” Steve thought about it for a moment. “Scratch that, you two are never meeting. You’d reorder the entire world in a weekend.”

Her laughter filled the room, easing the weight in Steve’s chest. “I’ll get the clothes. There’s an en suite through there.”

Steve waited until Peggy disappeared through the door before going out to pick up the delivery. He didn’t know what to expect - was leaning toward a shopping bag, quite honestly - and was surprised by the clothing rack on wheels, with a length of garment bags hanging from the rail. The bottom had been fitted with a mesh basket and that was filled with shoes and other accessories. 

He wheeled it into his apartment. Why had he been surprised? Pepper had always been efficient. “Let me guess. This stuff doesn’t come from Pepper’s closet?”

“Ms. Potts has a relationship with several local shops,” Jarvis replied. “Most will deliver on her sayso.”

“Steve…” Peggy came out of the bathroom, wearing a robe much too large for her and monogrammed with his shield design. _Tony, of course._ “You have to tell me who that man behind the speaker is. He’s certainly not Edwin Jarvis.”

It took Steve a moment to decipher her words. He’d lived with the reality of JARVIS for two years, so it hadn’t occurred to him to have to explain.

“No, Ms. Carter, but my speech patterns were modeled on his,” Jarvis answered politely.

“Jarvis isn’t a man,” Steve said. “He, well, it’s, he’s a computer.”

Peggy’s eyes widened. “Like a Turing machine.”

“Yes? Maybe. I’m not sure what you’re talking about.”

Peggy started sorting through the clothing on the rack. “I did a lot of reading while I was working the desk at the SSR. Alan Turing had the most fascinating ideas, and it seems he was right about some things.”

“Ms. Carter I must remind you both that you should not learn too much about this time period.” Jarvis sounded apologetic.

“I’ll refrain from asking you leading questions, then.” Peggy pulled a scarlet dress from beneath a garment bag. “Oh, this is lovely.”

She continued to rummage through the articles in the basket, emerging with a pair of shoes, and what looked like a makeup bag. Well, Steve knew Pepper was thorough.

When she disappeared back into the bathroom, Steve fell into one of the too-comfortable arm chairs in the living room. The wind had been knocked out of his sails. Peggy was here, really here. She needed things like clothes, and underwear...

The back of his neck heated. He’d enjoyed pulling the silky old-fashioned undergarments down her legs. What would she look like in modern clothing?

He shook himself and got to his feet. If they were going downstairs to meet the others, then he’d better get dressed himself.

***

Steve didn’t know how Pepper had done it, but the dress Peggy came out in somehow made her seem part of both worlds - it had a touch of the forties in the fit and flare of the skirt, but the top was much more modern. Peggy had pulled back her hair, and for a moment he was thrown back to the moment he first met her, all prim and proper in her military uniform.

“Shall we?” She stepped forward.

“You look lovely.” Steve took her arm, wondering how he’d been blessed with such a gift.

Too many gifts, actually, none that he deserved.

Steve felt he should warn her, a bit, about the rest of the Avengers. But the elevator doors closed with a snap and he couldn’t find the words quickly enough before they were already opening to the common room level. 

The scent of fresh food filled the air and Steve realized that lunch invite had been serious. His stomach growled as he recognized the decadent scent of the Indian food Clint had gotten him hooked on. 

“Hi.” Pepper appeared first, and Steve was grateful. She grinned at Peggy. “You went with the red one, excellent. That was my favorite.”

“You must be the infamous Pepper then?” Peggy held out her hand and Pepper shook it heartily. 

“Pleasure to meet you, Ms. Carter.”

“It’s Peggy, please.”

“I wanted to meet you before I had to run. Shareholders meeting. I was just glad I had the time to get you something to wear while you’ll be staying with us.” She held out a thin StarkPad. “It’s loaded with novels written pre-1946. Just in case you get bored.”

Peggy took it hesitantly. “You really did think of everything.”

“That’s my job.” Pepper turned to him. “You’ll find everyone waiting in the rec room. Lunch has been set up as a buffet. Clint said he doesn’t promise to leave you any samosas.”

“We’d better get inside then.” Steve grinned at her.

Pepper touched his shoulder as she passed and then nodded in Peggy’s direction. Steve supposed that was approval of a sort.

In the rec room, food had been set up on tables covered with white tablecloths. Tony couldn’t even do takeout simply. Clint perched on the back of a couch that Natasha had sprawled all over. Sam lounged in a chair across from them, while Tony and Bruce were gesturing at each other in the corner.

Steve met Sam’s eyes warily. Sam was only staying in the tower because he’d promised Steve he’d help find Bucky, and they were waiting on Tony’s inventory of Howard’s inventions. This...was a wrinkle Steve hadn’t expected.

“Look who’s finally shown up.” Tony had noticed them. “I see you had plenty of time to ‘catch up.’” He made the air quotes as he said the words.

“Peggy, you’ve already met Tony. This is Dr. Bruce Banner.” Steve gestured to the others. “Sam WIlson. Natasha Romanoff. Clint Barton.” He left off the ‘agent’ since Peggy shouldn’t know about SHIELD, for many reasons.

“Pleasure to meet you all.”

“Bruce and i will give you the bad news, and then we might as well eat."

Steve stiffened. "Bad news?"

"We're both pretty darn sure that time travel is impossible."

"And yet here I am." Peggy raised an eyebrow.

“And here you are.” Tony gestured. “Which is why we called in Dr. Jane Foster. She’ll be here in about an hour. Until then, we can eat.”

As if on cue, Steve’s belly rumbled. It had been a while since he’d last eaten. Maybe Tony had the right idea.

“Worked up an appetite there, sport?” Trust Tony to never let the opportunity go by to embarrass himself.

“Oh, is that what they call it in the 21st century?” Peggy breezed past a stunned Tony and made for the buffet tables.

A slow smile crept up Steve’s face. He’d missed this woman. 

Peggy moved through the room as if she weren’t out of her own time. He suspected she’d always been like that, able to walk into any situation and simply own it. Steve just hadn’t had the time to find out. 

“So, uh, rough few weeks for you, man.” Sam had come up to him, leaving his seat as the others made for the food.

Steve felt a pang of guilt. He’d dragged Sam here on their quest to find Bucky, only to now have this detour. “She won’t be able to stay long. Stark says they have to get her back to her own time.”

“Yeah, we got the Cliff Notes version of that. You don’t have to feel guilty about spending time with your girl, Rogers.”

Even now, Steve couldn’t take his eyes off of her, as she chatted with Natasha and Clint over plates filled with food. He was still going to find Bucky. Nothing would get in the way of that. But, nobody said he couldn’t take a break.

And right now Peggy needed him.

He might need her too.

*** 

Peggy hid her smile at Clint’s earnest discussion of the different types of dishes. She refrained from pointing out that as she was English, she was no stranger to Indian cuisine. Of course, she also realized his jabbering about the food was intended to make him seem less threatening.

Both he and Natasha had to be agents of some kind, but wouldn’t Steve have introduced them as part of the SSR if they were? Had it changed so much that he couldn’t mention it?

Of course he hadn’t explained how he knew any of these people. She watched him talk to Sam Wilson - obviously former military from the way he held his shoulders - and wondered if Steve had gone back to working with the army in this new future. 

“It’s a shame we couldn’t go out for lunch,” Natasha said smoothly. “It’s really much better straight from the kitchen.”

Natasha was so nice and earnest, smiling with wide eyes. It should have put Peggy at ease, instead it reminded her of the last Russian woman she’d been fooled by.

“Yeah, but we’re not gonna be the ones to screw up the space time continuum.” Clint said, muttering “this time,” under his breath.

He had to be joking. “Do you think it would truly be so awful if I knew the future?”

Peggy dipped a bite of naan into the sauce she’d dabbed on her plate. She was hungry, and she welcomed the rich, warm flavor. 

“Well, what if it changes the way you’d do something. You sneeze the wrong way and I might never be born.” Clint gestured with his plate. “Like Marty McFly in Back to the Future.”

Natasha rubbed her forehead. “I think talking about movies counts as spoilers, Clint.”

They’d obviously worked together for a while. They had an easy way about them. Peggy watched the others, how Stark and Banner continued to have a discussion about the theoretical science behind time travel, Stark’s arm movements getting more and more erratic. Steve finally left Sam’s side and came over to join them with his own plate. 

“Everything okay here?” He looked almost nervous.

Natasha slapped him on the shoulder. “She’s all right, Rogers. I can see why you didn’t want to date anyone else.”

Something crossed Steve’s eyes, a wave of emotion Peggy couldn’t identify. He shouldn’t have reacted like that to basic teasing. What was it? She hated being kept in the dark, even though Peggy understood the necessity of it.

“Excuse me,” the voice of Jarvis interrupted before Steve could respond. “Dr. Foster’s helicopter has landed on the roof.”

“Thanks, Jarvis. Someone pack up a doggie bag for the good doctor. It’s time to go back to the lab.” Tony swirled his finger in the air.

Peggy’s heart started to pound. Was this it? A few glorious hours with Steve and then? She reached for his hand and laced their fingers together, reminding herself of how very warm and solid and real he felt.

The doors to the lift slid open and it was time to meet her fate.


	3. Interlude 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Clint and Natasha talk.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Since I'm pretty OTP about Clint/Phil, it will pop up in this fic, but it's going to be a background pairing for the most part. It's alluded to in this brief bit.
> 
> (I hope to have more up soon.)

"We’re going to have to tell him about this.” Natasha said in an undertone long after everyone left. She didn’t specify who. Jarvis listened, no matter how unintrusive he thought he was being. 

Clint stuffed his mouth full with the last bit of food on his plate before replying. “Right, this is just the thing he needs right now.”

She handed him a napkin, indulging for a moment in the only bit of mother-henning she’d allow herself. Clint knew she cared - she’d crawled through the Brazilian rainforest to bring him back home after SHIELD fell. Stark was the only one she’d trusted with the resources to help Clint heal, so she’d brought them both here.

He didn’t limp any longer, though she wondered if he hid it from her on purpose. The bruises had faded from his face, though ever so often she caught him rubbing at his chest. Broken ribs took time before they stopped aching. 

“It’s Peggy Carter. Founder of SHIELD. Do you know what kind of damage this could do to the timeline? We need to be prepared.” 

“If we cease to exist, I don’t think we’d know about it.”

“Clint.”

“You think Tony and Bruce can’t figure out a little thing like time travel? Especially with Dr. Foster helping?” Clint wiped at his hands, though evidence of his meal had long been cleared away. 

It wasn’t that she didn’t trust them. Natasha wouldn’t be here if she didn’t think she and Clint would be safe here. Every instinct in her gut warned her to be wary.

"That's not what I said. Besides, you know he'd be livid if we sent her back and he didn't get the chance to see her."

Clint threw the napkin in the trash and let out a little sigh. "And this is not just an excuse to get me to talk to him?"

"Like you need me to tell you that." She pressed her fingers into his forearm, squeezing tightly. "They used to tell stories about her, when I was a little girl."

He stiffened. She so rarely spoke of her childhood to anyone, but she knew Clint would only listen and never judge. "She was the only monster we were ever frightened of."

"Fuck, Nat." Clint grasped her hand and she realized just how hard she'd dug her nails into his skin. 

Memories. Sometimes it couldn't be helped. "Well?"

"I'll talk to Phil."


	4. The Waiting Game

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jane Foster arrives. Peggy meets Darcy. What could go wrong?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There is a bit here that I got from A Wrinkle in Time. Shout out to Madeline L'Engle for her explanation of a tesseract that I borrowed for time travel.

Peggy held still on the lab table as Dr. Banner finished up drawing her blood into the last of the five vials he’d prepared. “And why exactly do you need my blood?” 

He looked up and gave her a charming smile. “It’s not every day that we get someone from the past come visiting.”

“And,” Dr. Foster interrupted, not looking up from her instruments, “We need to make sure you’re not harboring any visitors. Did you know you’re giving off slight amounts of vita radiation?”

“I’m afraid I did not.” Peggy pressed her lips together to keep from smiling.

She hadn’t known what to expect of the diminutive Jane Foster. Foster seemed young, and her eyes always seemed to be looking at something far away. But she was also no nonsense and apparently capable, based on the respect Dr. Banner showed her.

Tony Stark and Steve were off corralling Foster’s boyfriend, a strapping man named Thor. Peggy had heard mention of drinking games, and feared for their livers from what she remembered of Steve’s ability to drink. 

It still make her heart flutter, to think that Steve was just beyond those doors. That he had held her, that they had kissed, had been intimate. This wasn’t a dream, and even if she had to go home soon, Peggy would treasure these memories for the rest of her life.

Although she wasn’t entirely certain she’d be ready to let him go again so soon.

The door to the lab slid open, revealing a young woman juggling a tray of cups. “Coffee run, successful.” 

“Just set it down, Darcy. Don’t spill anything on the equipment. Again.” Jane gestured to the table.

“Hey, I haven’t made that mistake since you first hired me.” The girl turned to Peggy and handed over one of the cups. “Earl Grey. Hot. Figured you were British, so tea. I’m Darcy, by the way.”

Peggy took the cup gingerly, the heat nearly burning her fingertips through the thin cardboard. She’d wait a moment before tasting - even her tea-proofed tongue might be scalded. “Pleasure. I’m Peggy.”

“I’m the intern.” Darcy hopped up onto the lap table next to Peggy. “Someone has to make sure Jane eats something besides Pop Tarts.”

Jane didn’t refute this statement. She was busy scribbling in a black notebook. Peggy had to admit she was relieved to see old fashioned paper and pen. For a while she’d worried if the future had eradicated everything familiar.

“So time travel?” Darcy probed. “That’s a thing now?”

Dr. Banner smiled. “Apparently. That’s what we need Dr. Foster to tell us.”

“Most people make the mistake of thinking of time as linear.” Jane looked up from her note-taking. 

Peggy blinked. “I was under that impression, yes.”

“It’s similar to wormhole physics, in a sense. Darcy do you still have that piece of yarn?”

Darcy handed over a length of fuzzy pink string that had come out of nowhere.

“Thank you. As I was saying.” Jane held the yarn stretched between her hands. “If you were an ant and you needed to travel from my left hand to my right, the journey would take forever, unless…” She brought her hands together, folding the loop. “A wormhole bends space, making the distance negligible. Since Time and Space are two sides of the same coin, we can apply the same theory to time travel.”

Peggy reached out, but didn’t quite touch the swinging length of yarn. .”You’re saying Howard’s invention folded time?”

“Possible. Our next step is taking a look at the machine itself. You don’t have to stay for that, I think it’s going to take some time.”

“Now that I’ve taken your blood, I’ll need to run the samples.” Dr. Banner said.

That was awfully anticlimactic. Peggy had expected instant results. Everything else here seemed to move so fast.

“I’ll take you down to the bar. I want to see if Thor smashes any more mugs.” Darcy looked positively gleeful at the thought.

“If it’s gotten to that point already…” Jane trailed off and shook her head.

Darcy grabbed one of the other cups of coffee and waved her arm at Peggy. 

She supposed it would be all right to take her tea with her. Peggy took a quick sip out of the slit in the odd lid, and was taken aback at how strong it was. It bit back, much like everything else here.

They left Dr. Banner and Jane in the lab, and hopped onto an already opened lift. Peggy supposed never having to wait was a bonus. 

“So…” Darcy started.

Something in that tone set Peggy on edge. She expected some sort of personal question about Steve and braced herself.

“There’s this podcast that’s just a rehash of these old radio shows from the 40s...you wouldn’t happen be familiar with Betty Carver, are you?”

“Good lord. Someone should have burned those.” 

***

Steve nursed his whiskey, not feeling the need to really drink. He’d passed on Thor’s offer for something stronger, content to merely wait while Jane and Bruce tested Peggy for...whatever they were testing her for. 

Honestly, he didn’t know why he couldn’t stay, but he let himself be dragged away by Tony and Thor. 

Sitting here at the bar between the two men, Steve could almost think it hadn’t happened at all. That he’d dreamed it, and Peggy wasn’t just a few floors away. 

“So, Star-Spangled Man, how does it feel to finally lose your virginity?” Tony slammed his glass on the bartop. 

By this point, Steve knew the best way to respond to Tony’s banter was by saying exactly the opposite of what Tony would expect. He took a long gulp of his drink, before slowly smiling. “I do believe a gentleman does not kiss and tell.”

“You do admit to bedroom shenanigans, then?”

“Tony, if you can’t even say it…”

“You want me to straight up say ‘geriatric fucking’?”

Thor slammed his glass down, but not in anger. He tended to do everything forcefully, Steve had noticed. He cleared his throat, and declared, “If even my Jane cannot fix this machine of Tony’s father, I would be happy to transport your woman to Asgard. We have much more advanced technology.”

One one hand, Steve was glad Thor just tended to ignore everything Tony said. On the other, there was no way in hell he was letting Peggy go to an alien planet. “Thank you, Thor, but I’m sure telling her about Asgard’s existence violates the whole point. She can’t know anything about the future.”

“Altering her memories would be a small magic.”

Steve went cold at the thought. Did this explain why the Peggy of today had holes in her mind? Had they done this to the past version of her, and condemned her to this future? “Absolutely not.”

“Keep it open as an option,” Tony said in a low voice, as serious as Steve had ever heard him. 

What would happen if Peggy stayed here? If she never went back and helped Howard put together SHIELD with its rotten core? Could the future end up any worse?

He was pulled from his musings as Peggy returned with Darcy at her side. He’d only met the intern in passing.

“Jane’s about to crack open the machine,” Darcy announced. “I brought her a triple shot espresso, so she’ll probably be up all night.”

“And that’s my queue to supervise these shenanigans.” Tony gave Peggy a little nod. “We don’t want the lab blowing up. Again.”

Peggy watched him leave. “I’m beginning to think your friends are a little reckless, Steve.”

He laughed. “Any different from the Commandos?”

Her gaze dimmed, just a bit. “Not really, no.”

The weight of the day suddenly settled on his shoulders. “Well, we don’t have to stay up all night, right?” 

Her lips quirked, and Steve was really glad Tony had left before he’d dropped that innuendo.

“I only meant that it’s time for bed. To sleep.” Steve ended up stammering. How did she do that? Even now Peggy made him feel like the awkward skinny boy he’d been, unable to talk to dames. 

“I think that’s a lovely idea.”

They wished Thor and Darcy a good evening, and took a lift back up to Steve’s rooms

“Are you all right?” He asked, shutting the door behind them. It still felt wrong not to lock it, but no one was getting in without a handprint or retina scan. Steve still missed the solid feel of old fashioned brass locks.

“I’m not entirely sure.” Peggy sat on the couch and slipped out of her heels. She had a piece of cotton bandaged onto her arm, but otherwise looked unscathed. “I keep having to remind myself that this isn’t a dream.”

“I felt like that when I first woke up in this century.” Steve never forgot how lost he felt, and how he’d gone searching for his past, taking a lonely train ride through an unfamiliar New York City. “Do you want something to drink? Some tea maybe?”

She laughed. “I just drank a rather large cup Darcy brought me. She wanted to hear about that horrid Captain America radio show...oh, have you heard it? If you haven’t, don’t.”

“I haven’t.” He wanted to tell her that hadn’t been the only show produced. There’d also been several movies, in addition to the comics. He wouldn’t have cared so much about his own memorabilia, except after Coulson had died, Steve had gone looking, as if learning about trading cards would have eased his guilt about that. 

“I think, I think I would just rather sleep,” she said in a small voice.

“I could stay on the couch, if you prefer?” Knowing Tony, it probably pulled out into a water bed or something ridiculous.

“No, I find I rather like the idea of sleeping in your arms.”

Steve did as well.


	5. Interlude 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Clint contacts Phil.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This starts the Phil and Clint portion of the story.

“So time travel is a thing now?”

Clint moved closer to his phone. He had the earbuds in, but even those didn’t completely cut out the noise of the bustling cafe around him. This was the only place with free wi-fi not provided by Stark Industries. He needed to contact Phil without Jarvis knowing.

Phil looked tired, even on the tiny screen. He rubbed his forehead and stared at Clint through eyes ringed with purple bruises.

Half of him wanted to reach out and hold Phil, give him a place to rest his weary head. The other half of him thought Phil deserved it, after keeping his existence a secret from Clint until after SHIELD fell. 

“Yeah, well you can apparently blame Howard Stark for this one. It was one of his old inventions that did it.”

Phil stiffened. “Are there any other of Howard Stark’s inventions hanging around?”

“Could be. I didn’t exactly ask. I was too busy making nice with the woman from 1946.”

“Does she seem…” Phil trailed off.

Clint waited for him to finish the sentence. Did she seem...what? fine? happy? healthy? pretty?

“Real.”

“As real as another human being could be? Or do you mean do I think she’s really Peggy Carter?”

“The latter.”

Clint sighed. “Why don’t you come and see for yourself, Phil?”

He didn’t expect anything after saying that. They’d only communicated via skype since Nat had dragged Clint’s ass out of the jungle. She’d been the one to tell him about SHIELD, and the data about Phil she’d found in the dumped files. 

Were they even still together? It wasn’t like Phil had come rushing to Stark Tower after contact had been made. 

“I think I might be able to do that.”

Clint tapped at his earbud, not certain he’d heard Phil right. “What? You’d show up to meet one of your idols, but not for…” he stopped before pouring his heart out. “Fine. Be on the Stark landing pad at 0900 tomorrow.”

Before Phil could respond, Clint killed the connection. If Phil had anything else to say, he knew where to find Clint.


	6. Shenanigans

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The morning after.

Peggy rolled over onto sheets that were cold. She opened her eyes and blinked at the brightly colored note on Steve’s pillow. “Went to the gym,” it said, in oh so familiar handwriting “Feel free to join me. Breakfast in the kitchen.”

She plucked it from the pillow and carried it with her as she made her way to the kitchen, one of the sheets wrapped around her shoulders. He’d never needed to sleep as much, after the serum. That apparently hadn’t changed.

On the counter she found a brown paper bag full of bagels so fresh they were still warm. As she pilfered one, she was interrupted by Jarvis’s kind voice.

“There are a variety of cream cheeses available, as well as butter if you prefer, in the refrigerator. I can set the coffee pot to brew, if you’d like.”

“Do you always watch us?” She felt herself blush, not quite comfortable with the idea.

“No, Agent Carter. Captain Rogers asked that I be present once you awoke in his absence.”

“Kind of him.” She pulled open the door to the very large refrigerator. The cold air blasted her skin, and she marveled at it. Did Stark have one of these on every floor? Surely the expense.... 

Clearly that wasn’t an issue. She found the butter, and grabbed the cream as long as she was in here. The scent of coffee filled the room, and she watched the liquid fill up a clear glass carafe set into a machine in the wall.

Truly the future was marvelous. 

She ate, cleaned up, and then decided she should seek out Steve. It felt itchy to be in here alone, with no one but Jarvis for company. 

“Jarvis, did Pepper include any clothes I could wear to the gymnasium?” She sorted through the selection on the rack that still sat in the living area. Perhaps she should roll it into the bedroom. 

“I believe you will find appropriate workout attire in the bottom left hand corner of the basket.”

She shook out some flimsy black fabric. “These look like undergarments.”

“They are called yoga pants.”

  
***   


Peggy still felt terribly underdressed, even as Jarvis assured her the attire was perfectly acceptable. She’d grown accustomed to fighting while burdened with plenty of fabric. This felt almost too easy.

“You’ll find Captain Rogers behind that door,” Jarvis said, continuing as her guide throughout this massive building. She wondered what it looked like from the outside. Of course, it was one of those things she was forbidden to know. 

It irked her that she didn’t know how to leave this building if she needed to. Peggy normally familiarized herself with all routes of escape, to be prepared for any eventuality. But, would she even be able to manage outside these walls, or would the future be filled with things she couldn’t comprehend?

Disturbed, she pushed open the door.

“The question is, man, now that we’ve known where he’s been, will he avoid those places or retrace his steps? You’re the one who knew him best, what do you think?”

Steve stood with Sam Wilson in the center of the room, looking intently at a square piece of plastic she’d been told was called a Starkpad. 

“Our best bet is to start checking safehouses to see if they’ve been raided for supplies. I’d start in Eastern Europe. It’s where we spent most of our time during the war, it might be familiar, even if he doesn’t know why.”

Whatever could they be talking about? It almost sounded as if, but that was impossible. Steve only survived this long because of the serum, and then he’d been preserved in the ice. Or that’s what she’d inferred from their conversation. Clearly, there was much Steve wasn’t telling her. Was that to keep knowledge of the future from her, or was something else behind it?

“G’morning, ma’am.” Sam nodded in her direction.

Steve didn’t react, just looked up from whatever he was reading and met her eyes. Did she read guilt there? Or was that wishful thinking? “Peggy.” 

Still, her belly fluttered when he said her name. “I hope I’m not interrupting anything?”

He handed the pad over to Sam, who tucked it under his arm like a book. “Just getting Steve’s opinion on something. Catch you both later.” He gave her a polite nod before heading out the door.

“I used to think keeping me out of things was a sign of disrespect,” she said, still stung by recent events, things Steve could not have any knowledge of. 

“I’d tell you if I could,” he said, “Truth is I’d value your insight.”

“But you can’t even ask?”

He ran a hand through his hair, looking for a moment like the lost skinny boy she once knew. “If I tell you, there’s a chance you might change things, and I’m so close to just spilling everything.”

“What could it be that I have a chance to change it 70 years in the past?” she balked. 

Steve shook his head. “I can’t.”

That he so clearly wanted to was obvious. She reached out and placed a hand on his arm, the muscle tensing beneath her fingers. “Why don’t you show me the fancy new future equipment in this gym?” It was probably best if she changed the subject.

His face transformed, the lost look being replaced by a wicked grin. “Oh, I don’t know, I thought we could practice sparring on that blue mat over there. You know, keep things low-tech.”

“You do remember that I taught you how to fight?” she teased. Of course, that had been before the serum, when she showed him how to take advantage of men taller and stronger than himself. How would that change now that he was the taller and stronger one?

“I’ll go easy on you.”

“Don’t you dare.”

She attacked before he could respond, kicking his legs out from under him. Steve landed with an oomph, his breath knocked out of him. Pressing her advantage, Peggy straddled him, pressing her arms down with his own. “Hello,” she said.

He flipped them both, rolling them from the floor onto the mat a few feet away. “Hello, yourself.” Slowly, he leaned down and pressed their lips together.

This was the best sort of sparring.

“Agent Carter, Captain Rogers, I’m sorry to interrupt, but Mr. Stark has requested everyone’s presence immediately in the 27th floor conference room.” 

“Everyone?” Steve asked.

“Have they found a way to send me back?” Peggy’s heart dropped, and she started to feel the beginnings of panic swell. Not yet. She wasn’t ready!

“I don’t believe so, Agent Carter. This meeting involves an old friend.”

Steve narrowed his eyes. “Come on. We’ll finish this later.”

She was counting on it.

  
***   


What could possibly be so important for Tony to have interrupted them? Steve clenched his fist, swearing that if this was something stupid, he was going to give Tony a piece of his mind. There was so little time with Peggy left…

It suddenly occurred to him that by old friend, Jarvis could have meant Bucky. Surely Tony couldn’t have found him on his own? Steve reached out and took Peggy’s hand in his, squeezing it for strength. She looked over at him and smiled.

The elevator doors opened.

At first he couldn’t see around the crowd of people in the room. Tony really had invited everyone to this meeting. Steve strode forward, Peggy at his side, to see what the fuss was all about. The sea of people parted, and there were plenty of faces he didn’t recognize. But there was one that he did.

Agent Coulson sat at the end of the conference table in the center of the room, seemingly oblivious to the chaos around him. He looked up when Steve entered and straightened his shoulders.

Anger flared through Steve followed strangely by relief. “Apparently there’s a playbook for faking your own death.”

“I assure you, Captain, that I did in fact die. It just didn’t quite stick.” Coulson got to his feet and nodded. He looked tired and pale. “I’m sorry that you had to find out like this.”

“And how exactly were we supposed to find out?” Tony snapped. “I doubt Hallmark makes a card for this occasion.”  
Steve held up a hand. If he let Tony go on they’d be here all morning. “You’re here because of Peggy.” He brought her hand closer to his thigh, as if by sheer force of will he could keep her here.

“I believe I haven’t been introduced,” Peggy reminded in an irritated voice.

Coulson half-bowed in her direction. “I apologize. Please call me, Phil. May I introduce my staff?”

“Please do.” Peggy looked around the room, curious. Steve followed her gaze, noting the mix of people Coulson had brought with him. The glance caught Clint and Natasha watching from the corner. Clint’s face was pinched and closed off. 

“May I present Melinda May --”

“I told him this was a bad idea.”

“Skye, Mack, Fitz and Simmons…”

“It’s such an honor to meet you, ma’am.” The girl known as Simmons had come forward, grinning at Peggy and clasping her hands in front of her. “I honestly never thought I’d have this opportunity, Oh, there is so much I want to ask you.”

“Need I remind you all,” Tony cut in, “The integrity of the time stream! We are just one butterfly away from not existing!”

“Actually,” Simmons cut in, “We are more likely to create a parallel universe that splits off from the original time stream. That of course, depends on the multiverse theory being true. Unfortunately I’m no physicist, my training is in the biological sciences, but Fitz…” She trailed off.

Coulson held up a hand. “Regardless, this situation is too sensitive. I’d like to offer our services in helping to bring Ms Carter home.”

“Is this an offer we can’t refuse kind of thing?” Tony stood between Steve and Coulson, his chest puffed out like some kind of peacock. “Because I don’t think you’re saying that this is something I can’t figure out.”

“One thing I’ve never doubted, Mr. Stark, is your ability to solve a technical problem.” Coulson backed up a step, a physical concession that Steve took note of. “I just believe that we might have recently come upon some information that might be helpful.”

“No,” Peggy let go of Steve’s hand, and he felt it’s lose like a pang. “I mean, I don’t know for certain exactly what is between all of you.” She gestured between Tony and Phil. “I’m guessing you’re with some agency similar to the SSR, if not the SSR itself, but for some reason none of you want me to know about. But what I can’t shake is the feeling that you know me.” She said this last to Phil. “You look at me like you are expecting me to recognize you.”

Coulson opened his mouth, and then shut it, pressing his lips together. He shook his head.

 

“Don’t do it, Coulson,” Clint’s voice came from the back of the room like a warning shot fired.

Ignoring the advice, Coulson spoke. “My mother was a friend of yours. You would remember her as Angela Martinelli.”

Peggy went pale, her lips pressed together tight. Steve folded his hands into fists to keep from reaching out to her. Who was Angela Martinelli?

“She’s dead, isn’t she? In this here and now? That’s why it’s so important you see me?” Peggy didn’t wait for Phil to answer. Instead, she turned back toward Steve, “Can I get some air? There must be a balcony or something…”

Steve caught her elbow. “Gardens on the terrace level, come on.”

He left Tony to do the arguing.

  
***   


Peggy let Steve lead her away, only part of her mind paying attention to the path they took through the building. It had only just struck her, that in 70 years everyone she knew before had already lived their lives and yes died.

How did Steve stand it? He’d apparently made new friends, yes, but knowing that everyone he knew had moved on without him…

They emerged into greenery, plants in large pots, and tiny trees circled by bricks. Peggy followed a path of grey stone to a railing that overlooked the city, and although this was her chance to view the future New York she didn’t even see it.

“Who’s Angela Martinelli?”

“A friend,” she replied, but that word couldn’t possibly describe everything Angie had come to mean to her. “I met her after you died, and I transferred to New York.”

“I didn’t know you lived in New York, afterward.” Steve joined her next to the railing, and covered one of her hands with his own.

“What, you mean you didn’t research every intimate detail of my life once you woke up?” She snapped, because Steve didn’t have any restrictions on him, not like this weight that hung over her. Everyone knew everything about her, what she would become one day, and Peggy had to watch them have that knowledge while remaining ignorant. She never could bear ignorance. 

Angie had married. Had a child. Perhaps more than one, in fact. What was his name? Phil? Did he look like anyone Peggy had known? Realistically, there was no way to guess the identity of his father, but why did the idea irk her so much? 

Maybe she was jealous?

“No,” Steve interrupted her thoughts. “I looked for you, when I woke, don’t ever doubt that. But I wouldn’t invade your privacy like that. You had a life without me.”

A life she should be getting back to. ”I mourned you,” she said. “Howard had a vial of your blood, I poured it out over the East River and said good bye. It was the closest to a funeral I could have.”

“Peggy…”

“I’m going to have to do that again, aren’t I? Let you go, knowing what’s happened…”

He stopped her words with a kiss. Steve grasped her by the shoulders, his fingers digging in to her flesh almost painfully. She grabbed on to him, breathing in the scent of sweat and Steve.. 

“If you could stay,” he said into her hair, after the kiss had ended and he’d pulled her close, “What would we do?”

He was speaking of impossible things. “What would we have done, if you’d come home from the war?”

Steve didn’t answer, and for a moment she wondered, imagining Steve returning from the war a hero triumphant. Would she have simply gone back to work for the SSR? It was almost too big to comprehend,to picture the past several months of her life never happening, that there would have been no one there to stop Ivchenko or save Howard. 

“You can’t picture it, can you?” She finally answered her own question, because she couldn’t either. The past was, quite simply, the past. 

“Peggy, we’ll fix this, I promise.”

She didn’t know how, but for the moment, Peggy believed him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some housekeeping here. This takes place early season 2 of Agents of SHIELD, before they go looking for the city, but after Phil has recovered from his insanity. (I believe that's between episodes 8 and 9).
> 
> Also, someone had posted on Tumblr their headcanon about Phil being Angie's son, and that became my headcanon. However, because Tumblr, I have no idea who first suggested this, and I honestly would love to give that person credit. So if that's you, or if it's someone you know, drop me a note, please.


	7. Interlude 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Clint confronts Phil.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just FYI, if you want to avoid all the Clint/Coulson stuff, just avoid the interludes. We'll be back to Steve and Peggy next chapter.

“What were you thinking?” Clint slammed his fists on the conference table and Phil winced at the sound it made. That couldn’t be good for his hands. 

The others had cleared out of the room, off to help with cracking the mysteries of time travel. The very thought of Tony Stark having that technology left Phil cold. Tony was the type who would try to go back and kill Hitler. He spent too much energy trying to fix things without thinking about it first. 

“Clearly I was not,” Phil finally responded.

“What, did you suddenly expect her to be your ‘aunt Peggy’ when she doesn’t even know who you are?” Clint made air quotes as he spoke.

Phil let his shoulders slump. “Don’t mock me, Clint, we both know you only do it whenever you’re trying to take control of a conversation.”

“Can you blame me?” Clint’s voice had gone quiet. He stared down at the table and wouldn’t meet Phil’s gaze. “I thought you were dead, and then I had to find out via text message you weren’t...That’s pretty fucked up, even for us, Phil.”

He flinched. “Clint…”

“You were busy, I get that. I’m a specialist, Phil, I know the deal. But you didn’t even come see me when I was laid up in Stark medical after Brazil.What the hell am I supposed to think?”

Phil swallowed against a suddenly dry mouth. The last thing he ever wanted to do was leave Clint feeling unwanted. Of course that’s what Phil’s absence had seemed like. All their years together and he damn well knew Clint had trust issues. “They put alien blood in me.”

Clint blinked. Then he pulled out a chair and sat. Good boy. Phil stifled the hysterical laughter that threatened to bubble up. 

He stared at his own hands, once again familiar to him after months of feeling like they belonged to a stranger, watching as he scratched out alien symbols again and again. “At first I wasn’t entirely sure I was me. You stare Death in the face and get pulled back, that does something to a man.”

“Phil.”

“Maybe, if that had been all, I’d have been able to get over myself. But then the compulsion started. I couldn’t stop,” Phil held up one hand in the air, the motion still familiar, “I kept drawing symbols. I couldn’t stop myself.” He slammed his fist back down on the table. No. He was in control now. He knew what it was.

“You should have called me.” Clint had rolled his chair closer, and covered Phil’s bruised fist with both of his hands. 

“I should have,” Phil agreed. “I bet you would have figured it out way before I did. It’s a city, Clint, an alien city! We need to find it and…” He stopped. The city wasn’t the point. Clint’s feelings were. “I’m sorry.”

Clint stroked along the back of Phil’s hand. “But you’re okay now? It’s over?”

Phil let out a laugh. “The compulsion, yes. But it doesn’t change what was done to me, or the task still ahead of us.” He meant everything in that one sentence - finding the alien city, destroying it, and somehow living up to Fury’s expectations in rebuilding SHIELD. 

“And do you want to do all that alone?” Clint asked.

How could he forget they called this man Hawkeye for a reason? “No. I never did.”

“Then let me help.” Clint bit his lip. “Unless, you want to end this thing?”

That Phil could not let stand. He got to his feet and grasped Clint by his shoulders. “No! As long as you’re fine with a once-dead alien blood infested former paper pusher, then I’m yours, Clint Barton.”

“I think you’re selling yourself short, Coulson.” Finally a smile graced Clint’s lips. “Not sure I’m ready to forgive you just yet.”

“I can grovel. I’m good at groveling.”

This time he got a laugh. Phil felt a little bit of the ever present weight on his chest ease. He leaned in for a kiss.

It was awkward and uncomfortable, and Clint pulled away, licking his lips. This would take time, Phil knew.

“We have other pressing issues.” Clint tilted his head in the direction of the door. “We need to get her back to the past, or else we’re all fucked.”

“Well, we know we succeed, don’t we? Or else we wouldn’t be here right now.”

“Time travel makes my head hurt.”

Phil had every confidence in his team. They’d put Peggy Carter exactly where she belonged.


	8. Avengers Dance Party

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The part that's a little like a song fic.

Skye couldn’t believe she was actually in Tony Stark’s lab. Well, one of them, since she was pretty sure he had multiples. But she’d been let in and welcomed as a member of Coulson’s team. She’d come a long way from her cosplay days. 

Luckily nobody here knew anything about that.

Introductions went quickly, because everyone seemed to want to just get to work. Dr. Banner stood in front of a whiteboard covered with equations, every so often adding a notation. Dr. Foster would look at the machine, then scribble in her notebook, a faraway look in her eyes.

And Fitz and Mac seemed hell bent on taking it apart. 

“If the power’s shut down, then why is it still glowing?” Mac grumbled, looking at the innards of the box.

Skye came over to look “Internal power source?”

“Could be, but we can’t touch anything till we can figure out how to shut it down,” Mac said.

“Are those tubes?” She’d had a foster home that had an ancient TV, and those bulbs inside looked quite a bit like that TV’s insides. It reminded her of her teenage years putting together radio circuit boards. For a moment her hands missed the feel of a soldering gun. 

“We are dealing with 1940s technology.”

Fitz fidgeted, twisting his fingers together. “Wish I could...hook up.”

Skye still wondered how 1940s tech could be capable of time travel. Well, 1940s tech had created Captain America, and no one else had been able to replicate that since, which really worried her. What were their chances of figuring out this device? They had to fix this problem, somehow. She didn’t really want to be responsible for fucking up the time stream.

“Yeah, but analog can’t exactly talk to digital,” Mac said in response.

“Maybe it can.” Skye grabbed her laptop. “I mean, it’s probably easy enough to strip some wires and add some connectors. The problem is the code. I could write you a script…”

“Ms Skye? If I may be of assistance?” A disembodied voice seemed to come from everywhere.

No way. This had to be Stark’s AI. Holy shit. “Of course. You’re JARVIS, right?”

“Indeed.” A series of digital holo-screens appeared in front of her. 

This was going to be epic. Skye got to work. 

About two hours later a young woman entered the lab, followed by a robot pushing a cart. “I brought food. Well, okay, Dummy brought the food, but I picked it out. Oh, hello new people. ”

Skye waved. “Hey, I’m Skye.” She quickly introduced the others.

“Darcy,” the girl responded. “Intern extraordinaire. Provider of pop tarts and coffee.” She leaned over to where Mac and Fitz had gotten a bunch of wires stripped. “And what’s your job, muscles?”

Mac actually blushed. 

Skye grinned and tried to get back to work. Tony Stark had actually started the process, and even though Jarvis had given her access to his code, she still needed to decipher it first. 

“Seriously, guys, I did not bring all this food up here for my sake.” Darcy interrupted after a few minutes. “Take a break.”

Skye looked up and wondered how much time had gone by. There was a crick in her back that had her wincing as she straightened up. “A break sounds like a good idea.”

“I’m so close,” Dr. Foster said. “The equation for time travel, I can see it.”

“And a full stomach might help,” Dr. Banner said gently. He was so different from the Hulk - of course, Skye should know better. But she couldn’t understand how this sweet man had such a dark side. 

“Yes, eat.” Darcy had her hands on her hips, and reminded Skye of some sort of lunch lady warden.

She kept the thought and the giggles to herself and went to grab some food. Darcy continued to chat, so they room wasn’t silent as they ate. It was nice. It reminded her of how the Bus felt, before everything had gone so horribly wrong.

“So, do any of you listen to podcasts?” Darcy waved a lime green ipod as visual aid. 

“Just WTNV.” Skye grinned. “You have one in mind or are you asking in general?”

Darcy hopped up on the lap table they had cleared to use as a lunch table. “Only as it relates to our time traveling guest. There were these old time radio shows from the 40s that someone’s uploaded onto iTunes. I want to know how much of the ‘Betty Carver’ stories are really Peggy Carter stories.”

“Oh dear, don’t listen to those,” Simmons finally spoke up. “They are completely fictional. They don’t do justice to the actual role Peggy Carter played in the war.”

“Dern it.” Darcy seemed disappointed. “They just portray this grand love story between Carter and our man Cap.”

“Darcy, you just met him. He’s not yours.” Jane shook her head.

“They couldn’t be anywhere near as romantic as the truth.” Simmons seemed to know an awful lot about this. Skye was definitely going to grill her later. She knew about Coulson and his Captain America collection, but Simmons seemed just as knowledgeable. “There are...recordings, that SHIELD preserved. Originally on laminated discs, if you can imagine. Thankfully someone thought to preserve them before the lacquer completely delaminated…”

“What recordings?” Darcy cut through the tech talk.

“Of the last conversation between Peggy Carter and Steve Rogers, of course. Oh, it was so terribly sad. Just as Captain America is plunging into the ice cold seas below, they are planning a date. To go dancing. Of course, he never showed up.”

“Hey, can I listen to these recordings?” 

“Probably not on iTunes.” Skye reached for her laptop. “But I betcha they are in the SHIELD files that got dumped on the net.”

“Guys, isn’t that invading their privacy just a bit?” Dr. Banner spoke up. “We already know it’s tragic that she has to go back…”

Skye had found the recording and a typed transcript, which she read quickly. “Oh god, that’s so sad. They’d planned to go dancing…”

As she spoke, the door to the lab slid open and Tony Stark entered, carrying a dusty banker’s box. “Who’s going dancing? And why wasn’t I invited?”

Oh God. Tony Stark. Skye momentarily lost the power of speech. She vaguely pointed at the computer, while Darcy explained. It seemed Darcy was intimidated by no one.

Stark set down the box and read over Skye’s shoulder. “The Stork club? They demolished that place in ‘65…”

“Tony, no,” Dr. Banner said in a low voice.

Stark straightened up and grinned. “However, I happen to own a nightclub downtown. Do you think,” he checked his watch, “Eight hours is enough time to make it over into a retro 1940s style dance hall?”

“I don’t know?” Skye answered when it seemed like he was waiting for a response.

“Jarvis, let’s make some calls. Tell Pepper to cancel her meetings for the day. I need her on wardrobe.” Stark flicked his hands and more of those holographic screens appeared around him. “Bruce, tonight the Avengers are going dancing.”

“I hate to say it, but I think it’s one of the better ideas you’ve had. We could all blow off some steam.” Dr. Banner shrugged.

Skye turned and exchanged a look with Simmons. “Um, are we invited too?”

“Why the hell not? I’ll close the place down. Invited guests only. Jarvis, get everyone’s measurements. I’m going to need suits and dresses for these folks.”

Everything seemed to happen very fast after that. As Skye was swept into dance preparations, she wondered - what had been in the box?

***

Steve had brought Peggy back to his - their? - apartment, letting Tony handle their uninvited guests. She still seemed shaken, so he’d brewed them both tea, but it had sat cooling on the kitchen counter. Instead she’d led him to the bedroom where they’d made love again, so slowly, as if she was trying to remember every moment.

He couldn’t blame her.

He’d left her napping, in the center of the very large bed, a bed he’d come to think of as ‘theirs.’ Steve dumped out the tea in the sink. watching the dark brown liquid swirl in the drain. When he’d first found Peggy in the future, the older version, he’d come to terms with the fact that she’d lived an entire lifetime without him. But having young Peggy drop into his life had rocketed him back to the past, and Steve should have damn well known better than to think everything was the same.

They were no longer at war, for one. And he hadn’t planned on what would happen once the war was over, not when every day could have meant their last. Steve turned the tap on. It wasn’t like he needed to think about a future with Peggy. She had to return to her timeline, her life without him.

And Steve would be alone again.

Not quite. Bucky was still out there, somewhere. And he had Sam and Tony, and the others. That had to be enough.

“Captain Rogers, I should inform you that Mr. Stark is en route to your suite and he is in a very energetic state.”

Steve stifled the laugh. “Thanks for the warning, Jarvis.”

Still, he wasn’t entirely prepared for the manic Tony Stark who appeared at his door a few moments later. “Dancing. Tonight. You and your lady and the rest of the Avengers and friends.” 

“You’re going to have to back up and start again.”

“Your epic love story has apparently so moved the masses, that even I, a cold hearted cynic, could not resist.”

Oh, for pete’s sake, Tony was in one of those moods. Steve doubted he’d make any sense out of him. “Tony…”

“I’m talking about you finally taking your girl dancing, Rogers.”

Steve opened his mouth, but nothing came out. What could he say to that? Except…”How the hell did you know about that?”

“SHIELD’s files? Dumped on the ‘net? Any of that ring a bell? You know they kept really precise records.” Tony had started to move around the kitchen, and why not, Steve had never known him to be still. He poked at the coffee maker and started up a brew. “Don’t worry, we’re not judging you, okay, I’m secretly judging you. Hand me the milk?”

Steve went to the fridge, mostly to do something with his hands that didn’t involve strangling Tony. “Okay, I get it, my personal life is out there for public consumption. What’s this about dancing?”

“I’ve booked one of the clubs I’ve owned for this evening. Nobody else will be there but us. Come on, Rogers. One night only. You, Peggy, and like 20 of your closest friends. How does that sound?”

“I think it sounds lovely.” Peggy said from the doorway. She wore Steve’s t-shirt over the workout pants from earlier. Steve blushed right to the tips of his ears.

***

Voices had woken her from her slumber. At first Peggy had gone on alert, forgetting for a moment where she was. The nap had left her slightly disoriented. She dressed quickly and had ventured out, moving quietly enough that neither of the men had noticed her entrance until she spoke.

“I don’t suppose the Stork club was available?” She asked, moving into the kitchen and taking the cup of perfectly brewed coffee out of Tony’s hands.

He grinned at her as she took a sip. “It doesn’t quite exist any more. But trust me, my people are doing their best to give my club a 1940s facelift.”

“What about not telling Peggy anything about the future? I think taking her out to a club might violate that rule.”

For a moment she was irritated by Steve’s attempt at protecting her. Peggy frowned at him, and decided they’d have to discuss it later. He should know her well enough to not do that.

“Tinted windows on the limos. Private parking garages. Don’t worry, her delicate sensibilities won’t be upset by modern day Manhattan.”

She met Steve’s eyes and laughed. Delicate sensibilities? Her? He shook his head.

“I don’t want to be responsible for breaking the space time continuum or whatever Bruce was going on about.”

“Steve, it’s dancing. It might be our only chance.” She focused on the warmth of the cup in her hands. 

“It just seems too good to be true,” he said in a soft voice.

Her heart melted. “Steve…”

“Hey, nobody start getting mushy on my time.” Tony shook his finger. “This is all my doing and I fully expect to get all the credit for it. I assume you’re in?”

Peggy nodded.

“Great, Pepper will be down in a moment to whisk you to wardrobe…” Before he had even finished speaking, there came a chime at the door. “Enter!”

“Tony, it’s my apartment,” Steve interjected. “Please come in!”

The door slid open to reveal Pepper. Peggy hadn’t seen her since yesterday, but she still greeted the other woman with a smile. 

A few moments later, Peggy left the boys behind, traveling with Pepper to yet another destination via lift. Just how big was this building anyway?

“This is actually one of Tony’s crazy ideas that I can get behind,” Pepper said. 

“I suppose he has quite a few of those?” Although Peggy could see something of Howard in Tony Stark, she sensed that he was really quite different in a lot of ways.

Pepper looked heavenward. “You have no idea.”

“Forgive me for asking.” She was curious and Peggy didn’t think she’d have a better time to ask. “What exactly is your role here? You mentioned shareholders, but Steve said…” 

“Oh man, the elevator ride down is not nearly enough time to go into this.” Pepper shook her head. “And I’m pretty sure this probably goes into things you’re not supposed to know. I started out as Tony’s Assistant. He promoted me to CEO of Stark Industries during a...dark time for him. After that was over, profits were up 15% and the shareholders voted to keep me on.”

“And no one had any problem with you being…”

“Tony’s girlfriend? If they did they didn’t last very long.” She threw Peggy an almost wolfish grin.

Then the doors opened, and she led Peggy to a large room filled with racks of clothing like the one in Steve’s apartment. They weren’t the only ones there, Peggy nodded at Natasha, Dr. Foster, and Darcy, and took note of the other women who had come with Phil Coulson. She needed to speak with him, she realized, if only to give him some sense of closure. Peggy knew the value of that.

“Is everyone attending?” She marveled.

“Apparently so. I contacted as many vintage shops as I could find, and they all sent over dresses.” Pepper had pulled out her Stark Pad. “I even have fashion design students coming over to do quick alterations.”

Peggy flipped through the rack nearest her, stunned by the largess. “You’ve certainly thought of everything. But do answer another question for me?”

“Yes?”

“What on earth happened with 21st century undergarments?”

***

Steve tugged at the neck of his suit. At least Tony hadn’t made him wear his Army uniform. He’d dreaded that when he’d walked into the room Pepper had prepared with clothing choices. Luckily he was able to pick out a simple black tux, one that wouldn’t look out of place in any generation. Or so he thought. It wasn’t like he was the expert in fashion anyway.

They were waiting in the tower’s underground parking garage, Tony’s tinted window limo ready to go. The elevator dinged and he turned, anticipating rising in his throat. Pepper and Peggy both emerged, but he only had eyes for Peggy.

She wore an iridescent red dress that hugged all of her curves. Her hair had been swept back out of her face, and pinned with silver sparkling hairpins. As she stepped toward him, she grinned, displaying that perfect red lipstick that made Steve want to lick his own lips.

“Darcy rather likes sparkle,” she confided. “You’re lucky I didn’t get it everywhere.”

Steve couldn’t string two words together after that, especially when Tony commented, “Yeah, glitter is a bitch to get out of your ass.”

“Why don’t we get in the limo.” Pepper ushered them along, and Steve was glad for it.

He leaned down to murmur in Peggy’s ear, “You look amazing.”

“You clean up very well, yourself,” she shot back.

Then they were whisked away into the limo. Steve really disliked not being able to see out through the tinted glass, even though he understood the necessity of it. He still felt guilty not being able to share anything about the future with Peggy. Maybe there was some way he could…

Do what? Warn her? Then they might not even be here at this moment, and that, Steve would not change for anything. He squeezed her hand, and she smiled at him, nearly beaming. They were finally going to get the chance to go dancing. 

“I have a secret,” he murmured in her ear as the limo pulled to a stop. She smelled like roses. “I still can’t dance.”

Once inside Steve felt like he had gone back in time. The thought had a lump in his throat, because part of him wanted to look over his shoulder and see Bucky there cheering them on. Tony’s people had worked fast, adding cloth covered tables and wooden chairs, old-fashioned light fixtures, and velvet drapes from the walls. Instead of a band up on stage, there was a man in front of a turn table. Steve guessed they couldn’t be too picky.

At least one thing about the future, he didn’t have to deal with the stink of cigarette smoke. No, his nostrils were still filled with Peggy’s scent, as he followed her to a table. Steve looked around, nodding at Sam sitting with Clint and Natasha, and making note of who had been invited. Thor he spotted by the bar, with Jane tucked into his side.

Tony strode in with Pepper on his arm, and a spotlight followed them both to the dance floor. “Avengers and friends, we were here to dance. There will be food and drink, but as we all know there is one reason for us to be here tonight.”

“Oh, God.” Steve put his head in his hands. “Make him stop talking before he says something embarrassing.”

“Are you praying? I don’t think that’s going to help. I’ve only known him a few days and I can tell that already.” She looked brilliant, all but thrumming in her chair.

Steve got to his feet and held out his hand. He wasn’t going to let Tony embarrass him. He was going to do it himself. “Start up the band!”

No one called him out on there not actually being a band. Instead music started to swell, filling the entirety of the room. Steve placed one hand on Peggy’s side and took her hand in his other. “You’re going to have to lead,” he said through gritted teeth.

“Of course.” Her smiled had gotten even brighter.

They made a circuit of the dance floor before other couples started to join them. Steve felt a bit out of breath. When he had started to put the pieces of his life back together after coming out of the ice, he had never dreamed of this. 

In his heart he thanked Howard Stark for this night.

Time seemed to fly by. They finished the set, then another, before taking a break to eat and get some water. While everyone else seemed to have the same idea, Clint approached the DJ and demanded something ‘thumping.’

Clint then proceeded to strut across the dance floor, bouncing to the beat of whatever was playing. Steve admitted he hadn’t gotten caught up with modern music quite yet. There was just so much of it.

To the delight of everyone, Clint stopped and pointed at Coulson. When Coulson looked aghast at him, Clint only nodded - once again in time to the beat. With a sigh, Coulson got up and started to dance with Clint.

Steve let out a laugh. He did not expect to see the straight-laced Agent Coulson cutting a rug. He looked over as Peggy tugged his arm.

“Apparently twenty-first century dancing is just move however you wish. Come on, I believe even you can manage this.”

“I only stepped on your feet twice,” Steve protested as she pulled him out on the dance floor.

She took his hands in hers. “Just feel the beat.”

Steve started to listen to the song and just let his body move.  
__  
She said, "Shut up and dance with me!"  
This woman is my destiny  
She said, "Ooh-ooh-hoo,  
Shut up and dance with me."  
  
He grinned and spun Peggy around, not worrying about where he set his feet or how he looked. There was something freeing in just moving like this. He could just bounce in time to the music.

Steve pulled Peggy close, to feel their bodies warmth mingle in the rising heat of the club.

Then the song took a turn:  
__  
Deep in her eyes,  
I think I see the future.  
I realize this is my last chance.  
  
The words hit him like a punch to the gut. He’d always dreamed Peggy to be his future, and now here she was, but he couldn’t hold on to her. 

She looked up at him and tears were filling her eyes. Steve held her close. “I’ll make it right,” he promised. “Somehow, I’ll make it right.”

***

The evening had started to wind down by the time Clint came back to Phil’s table with two bottles of water. Phil watched him carefully, trying to figure out what Clint had meant by dragging Phil out onto the dance floor. Clint had shown off a side of himself Phil had thought reserved for him alone. Was it a message of some sort?

“Stop overthinking it,” Clint handed him a bottle, dripping with condensation. “Can’t we just have fun for one night? Isn’t that was this was about?” He nodded in the direction of Rogers and Carter, who sat at a table with their heads together. “Give them one perfect night together?”

Phil kicked out a seat and Clint dropped into it lightly. “You always were a closet romantic.”

“Yeah, that’s me, always believing true love will out.”

“And somehow you and Natasha are friends.” Phil sipped his water, letting the cold liquid refresh him. For the first time he felt a swelling of hope, that maybe things between he and Clint were not at broken as he feared. He tried to screw up some courage to ask Clint back to his rooms for the night, when they were approached by a worried looking Simmons and an alarmingly grumpy looking Dr. Banner.

Phil searched Dr. Banner’s face for shades of green, but thankfully didn’t find any. “Dr. Banner. Jemma. Please sit down.”

“Did you know?” Banner didn’t bother with a seat. “Is that why you came when you heard she was here?”

Phil blinked. He was used to accusations of omniscience, but in this case, he actually had no clue what Dr. Banner was talking about. “I’m afraid I don’t know what exactly you are referring to.”

“The truth,” Banner hissed.

Simmons put her hand on his arm. “Perhaps we should sit. We don’t want to draw the attention of the others just yet.”

The presence of both of them together like this provided the spark that put the connections together in Phil’s mind. “I take it the answers were in SHIELD’s files somewhere?”

“In Howard Stark’s lab books,” Banner explained. “The ones Tony just dug out of storage today. We stayed behind to go through them when everyone came here.”

“I don’t get it,” Clint interrupted. “What is this truth you’re talking about?”

Banner took a deep breath. “There’s no such thing as time travel.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, this is the scene that I had in my mind when I first started writing this fic. The song is of course "Shut up and Dance" by Walk The Moon. Every time I hear that song now I think of Peggy and Steve. 
> 
> I'm sorry for the wait between chapters, but I really hope to have this done by the end of summer.
> 
> The laminated disks that Simmons mentions are really a thing. There's this neat article here about preserving some of these relics: https://www.nedcc.org/audio-preservation/irene-blog/2014/08/12/delaminating/


	9. The Truth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steve and Peggy find out the truth.

Peggy woke once again in an empty bed, but this time it didn’t concern her. She knew exactly where she was, and that Steve wouldn’t be far. In fact, she smelled coffee wafting in from the kitchen and figured she might even catch him before he headed to the gym.

She stretched and reached for the robe she’d claimed as hers. It was far too big, but it felt good to be enveloped in its folds. Her body felt a little sore from yesterday, but it was the kind that reminded Peggy that she was alive.

For the first time she was looking forward to going home. This time in the future had been the stuff of dreams, and she knew she’d keep it in her heart when she got back. But she did need to return - someone had to keep up the good fight while Steve slept on.

She smoothed back the covers of their bed before venturing out into the kitchen. Steve stood at the counter sipping from a mug, dressed in his workout clothing. It looked like he’d already been to the gym. 

“Good morning.” He smiled at her. “I made you coffee. No bagels today, but I thought I’d whip up some scrambled eggs and toast?”

“Sounds perfect.” She sat at the kitchen bar and took a sip. Steve had fixed it exactly as she liked it. “Last night was quite special.”

His cheeks turned pink as he continued putting breakfast together, cracking eggs into a bowl, then dumping the concoction onto a sizzling grill. “I thought Tony was nuts for suggesting it, but it turns out even a broken clock is right sometimes.”

“Twice a day,” she finished the phrase, appreciating the view as he continued to cook for her. The t-shirt fit snugly around his shoulders, and she was able to watch every sinew and muscle as he moved. Peggy drank him in, adding this to her memory stores, along with the way his skin felt against hers, the scent of him as he made love to her, and the soft sounds he made in bed.

“Speaking of Tony, he says we need to come to a meeting after lunch, but we’re free to do what we wish until then. He sounded a little hyper. Probably was up all night.”

Steve dished her up a plate with a flourish. Peggy felt warmth flood her. “Until after lunch? Whatever will we do with ourselves until then?”

He grinned and leveled a stare at her, the kind she felt all the way to her toes. “I think I have a few ideas.”

  
***  


Steve had a bad feeling about this meeting. Tony usually pulled his all-nighters when he was working on some problem. Had he figured out how to send Peggy back? Really, it had only been a matter of time, but Steve wasn’t quite ready to let her go yet.

They went to the same conference room as yesterday, but this time there were far fewer people. Only Tony, Dr. Foster, Bruce, and the young woman who’d come with Coulson yesterday waited inside. Space had been cleared to set up Howard’s machine in the center of the room.

There was something wrong about that. Tony would have told them, wouldn’t he, if they planned to send Peggy back right now? Maybe it was only a demonstration? Steve’s gut clenched and he took hold of Peggy’s hand.

“What’s going on?”

“Well, I think I need to start out by saying that my dad could be a number one grade A asshole, but at one point he actually kept damn good lab books.” Tony had an old ledger in one hand, that he fondled as he spoke. 

The door slid open to reveal Pepper carrying a small grey plastic box. “Tony, you were supposed to wait for me.”

“They showed up early,” he pointed to Steve and Peggy.

“Tony, what’s going on?” Steve held back his anger, but just barely. Something was going on and it seemed like everyone knew but he and Peggy.

“Maybe I should explain,” Bruce interjected. 

Tony turned to look at him. “It was my dad’s invention.”

Bruce smiled, but it was brittle and didn’t reach his eyes. “But I figured it out.”

“Wait,” Steve interrupted. “You mean you’ve figured out the machine? You can send Peggy back?” Then why hadn’t they come out and said that? He gripped Peggy’s hand tighter as if that could prevent her from leaving.

“Not exactly,” Bruce said. “Pepper, if you would?”

Pepper opened the box and took out a fluffy white bunny. “This is Mrs. Whiskers. She belongs to Lucy in accounting.” She put the bunny beneath the device, the odd cage hanging over the bunnies head.

“Stand clear, Pep,” Tony called. Did Steve detect a hint of panic in his voice?

Pepper stepped away quickly, and the bunny sat there, it’s mouth twitching. “I’m clear.”

“This is the intake portion.” Bruce had gone up to the device’s controls and touched a sequence of buttons. “Do you remember Howard explaining this to you?”

Peggy frowned. “He told me he was looking for resonance - for a way to track Steve.”

“Well, it ended up taking more than that.” Bruce flipped a switch. A bright light appeared around the bunny, and then faded. 

Mrs. Whiskers hopped away into Pepper’s waiting arms. Bruce toggled more buttons on the machine. “And this is the output mode.”

The machine started to shudder. What looked like lightning appeared around the cage hanging from the ceiling. There was another flash of light. Steve blinked and when he could see again, there was Mrs. Whiskers sitting on the floor. He turned and saw that Pepper was still holding Mrs. Whiskers in her arms.

“I don’t understand,” Peggy said.

“It’s not a time machine,” Tony answered. “It’s a duplication machine.”

“That’s quite clear,” Peggy snapped, snatching her hand out of Steve’s. “How is this even possible?”

“Vita radiation.” Bruce nodded in Steve’s direction. “We’ve seen it create mass.”

“It added 33% to Captain Rogers’ body mass,” Simmons finally spoke up. She fiddled with a Stark pad in her hands. “And we’ve seen what Gamma radiation does to Dr. Banner’s body mass.”

“I’m not sure I understand.” Steve looked at the two rabbits. “Are you saying Howard’s machine made a copy of Peggy? That you’re not sending her back to the past?” He didn’t care about the science, all he understood is that this meant Peggy could stay with him.

Peggy herself went white as a ghost.

“There’s already a Peggy Carter in the past,” Simmons said softly. “Apparently two if Howard Stark’s logbooks are correct.”

“And this machine can make more Peggy Carters?” Peggy’s eyes were wide, she wore the same expression on her face right before she shot something.

“No,” Bruce answered. “We cleared the buffer that held your impression for the past seventy years. It could be possible if you were to stand under it again, but I’m not entirely sure what would happen if you were to copy a copy…”

“Look, my dad fucked up. He should have cleared that buffer before putting the machine into storage.”

“He should have destroyed it,” Bruce interrupted. “This is too much power for any one man to have.”

Steve only had eyes for Peggy. “I’m glad he didn’t.”

She didn’t look at him. 

Tony went on. “So as a Stark, I’d like to offer you all the resources of Stark Industries. A new identity. A salary. Help with adjusting to the 21st century. Hell, I think we can do a better job than SHIELD did with Steve.”

“Hey.”

“Peggy, are you all right?” Pepper asked in a quiet voice. The room had gone silent.

“No, I am most definitely not all right.”

Steve moved toward her, but she stepped back, keeping him at bay with one hand raised up between them. He didn’t know what to do to make this better. “Peggy?”

“Excuse me, all of you. I need some time to process this.”

She turned and walked out of the room with a stiff gait Steve hadn’t seen since she last wore a military uniform. He clenched his hands into fists and whirled on the rest of the room. “Tony, you will fix this.”

“I think only time can do that,” Pepper spoke up. “You have to give her some space. She needs to figure out who she is now.”

Steve knew exactly who she was - the woman he loved. And he’d make her realize that sooner or later.

  
***  


Peggy made it into the lift before she lost it. She stumbled, grabbing on to the wall for support. Her eyes stung and her belly heaved, but she wondered if she even really felt both sensations at all. Was she even real? Damn it, Howard.

“Ms. Carter, might I be of any assistance?” Jarvis interrupted her pity party.

She wiped at her eyes, trying to gain control of herself. Peggy prided herself on his self-control. Even if she was no more than a copy, then by god, she would not lose every shred of herself. “Thank you, Jarvis.”

It suddenly occurred to her that she spoke to a man who wasn’t a man as a woman who wasn’t a woman. She felt a sort of a kinship with him, more so than any of the others. “Jarvis, I suppose you heard that I won’t be returning to the past?”

“I did.”

“Then that means I no longer need to be kept ignorant of future events, correct?”

“That is absolutely correct, Ms. Carter.”

“Then tell me about her. The,” she swallowed hard, “real Peggy Carter.”

“Margaret ‘Peggy’ Carter,” he recited, “Born April 2, 1921, Currently resides in a nursing home outside of Washington, DC…”

She stopped him. “Wait. The original, she’s still alive?”

Steve hadn’t told her. Of course, it was most likely one of those pesky future-altering secrets that she couldn’t know. But she felt a flare of anger at him. Had he even gone to see her since he got out of the ice? Had he lied when he said he hadn’t gone looking for Peggy’s secrets?

“I need to see her.“ Peggy decided. It might be the only chance to get some of her questions answered. If anyone knew about Howard’s machine, and that other copy of Peggy out there, surely the original did. “Can you help me, Jarvis?”

“I’d be happy to, Ms. Carter. If you return to your apartment, I can modify the Stark pad Ms. Potts gave you so you can ‘take me along’ if you prefer.”

“That would be lovely.”

She followed his directions once she got back to the apartment, working quickly in case Steve had followed her. Jarvis directed her to a drawer filled with tech gadgets and told her to take a slim circular device that could be fitted to her ear. That would keep their conversation private. Peggy grabbed a large bag she found in the bottom of Pepper’s clothing rack and hurriedly filled it with necessities. She didn’t know how long she’d be gone.

Then she hopped into the lift and walked out of Stark Tower and into the future.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, so this idea didn't come to me until after I started this story. I was trying to figure out some way Peggy could stay...and then I thought of the end of the movie The Prestige. Tony was going to make a Tesla reference, but I ended up not using it. 
> 
> Of course, this means Peggy has a lot to figure out.


	10. Uptown Funk

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peggy meets the 21st century.

Peggy got out of the cab, clutching the Stark Pad to her chest. That, and the earpiece with Jarvis’s voice in her ear were her lifelines. She took a moment to marvel at the sheer busyness of the street. There were so many people, all of them heading into different directions, not seeming to notice her other than to step around her.

She pushed through the crowd and through the door of a place called Reggie’s, shocked at how quiet it seemed once the door closed shut behind her. She was greeted by a dark-skinned man with short gray hair and thin rimmed glasses.

“Good afternoon, ma’am. Welcome to Reggie’s. I’m Reggie. We’ve got the best coffee this side of Manhattan.”

“Better than freakin’ Starbucks,” someone at a table shouted.

Rather than admit she didn’t know what that was, Peggy merely nodded. “Thank you.”

“Place your order and then take a seat. Be sure to have a slice of apple pie. Made fresh this morning.”

She did so, figuring she couldn’t go wrong with such a suggestion. Peggy then sat at a table near the window and placed the Starkpad down in front of her.

Reggie was still greeting customers. “Hey, Paul, Haven’t seen you around in a while! Lisa told me you were a Marine! Semper Fi, man, I did two tours myself…”

Peggy looked up long enough to take note of Paul, a stocky man who walked with a shuffle, before a waitress arrived with her coffee order. Peggy thanked her and stirred sugar into the black liquid, swirling her spoon around and around.

Jarvis had led her to a friendly place, where the owner greeted customers like they were his best friends. And for all she knew, they were. Peggy was the outsider here. 

“I thought you might appreciate doing some people-watching,” Jarvis offered. “It is probably the fastest way to become accustomed to this century.”

Peggy whispered, “Jarvis…”

“You may feel free to speak up, Ms Carter. You will note that many people around you are talking on their personal phones.”

She did look around, taking note of a girl at the bar with a slim box held up to her ear, and at another table where a man in a suit was barking into another box laid flat on the table. “I still can’t get used to the fact that they don’t have cords. What are they plugged into?”

Jarvis hesitated. “Would you like me to give you a history of cellular technology?”

Peggy sensed that could take awhile. “No. Jarvis, I want you to tell me about….about her. Peggy Carter, the original. What did she do with her life?”

There would be no more secrets now. There was no reason to hide the past from her. It was no longer Peggy’s past at all.

“If you will direct your attention to the screen, I will provide some visual aids…” Jarvis began.

Peggy sipped at her coffee and watched the past in vivid color.

Some time later, as she was contemplating a refill, Peggy sat up and stretched. “Just a moment, Jarvis.” It would be good to take a break.

Movement caught her eye. A young man had walked into the shop, and staggered past Reggie attempting to give his greeting. The newcomer wore a heavy jacket that was dirty and stained in addition to being unseasonable. His eyes were wide and he kept moving like he’d been touched on the back, only to find no one there.

She half-rose to her feet before she realized it. But Peggy wasn’t quite fast enough. The stranger pulled a wicked looking knife out of his jacket and started swiping at nothing. Someone screamed.

“Lisa, call 911,” Reggie ordered. 

The man held the knife in Reggie’s direction and his hand trembled. Then he turned, as Paul, the man Reggie had greeted earlier, came up behind him. “Get away from me, man!”

Paul stumbled - there was something wrong with his legs, Peggy realized - and swore, and the man was on him, holding the knife close to his neck.

Good thing she’d drained her mug. Peggy lifted the porcelain cup, aimed and threw, hitting the newcomer right in the forehead. The knife clattered to the floor with an echo. She charged across the room and slugged him again for good measure, to make sure he was out. 

Paul had crumpled to the floor his eyes wide and glassy. Oh no. She’d seen men like that after the war. Peggy turned to Reggie. “You know him? You need to talk to him, remind him of where he is.”

Reggie crouched down. “Paul, come on, man. You’re at Reggie’s. You’re gonna have some tea, like you always do, and it’s gonna be fine.”

Peggy heard sirens. It was time for her to leave. She went back to her table to scoop up the StarkPad and her bag.

“Excuse me, miss,” a little girl stopped her at the door. “Are you an Avenger?”

Peggy paused for a moment. “I’m sorry,” she said and darted back out into the city.

***

Steve paced the conference room, unable to keep still. He wanted to run, to punch something, maybe both, but he couldn’t leave this room. Not yet.

“I should have gone after her,” he burst out.

“Relax.” Tony flipped through the holo screens in front of him, one of which contained a map of Manhattan. “Jarvis is with her, right buddy?”

“Indeed I am, sir,” Jarvis responded.

They could be suited up and by her side in an instant. Steve knew that. He saw that little red dot moving along the streets and told himself he knew exactly where Peggy was. That still didn’t help.

“Steve, why don’t you sit by me and have some tea.” Pepper took him by the arm and gently led him to the drinks bar set up in the back of the room. She deftly prepared a cup with some green tea and pushed it into his hands.

They were separated from the activity in the room. Bruce still had a dialog going with some of Coulson’s pseudo SHIELD people, although they had started to pack up the equipment they’d brought into the room. Tony kept doing whatever it was he was doing. Steve took a sip of tea.

“She’s not ready for you yet,” Pepper said. She held her own cup up to her chin. Steam tendrils made her face look softer, some how.

Steve bristled at her words. How could Pepper possibly know? These past few days had been a gift - finally getting to hold Peggy in his arms, to take her to bed as he’d never had the chance to do.

But she wasn’t his Peggy, not the one he knew in the forties. That Peggy lay in a hospital bed in DC waiting to die. His gut clenched at that thought, that he’d somehow betrayed that Peggy with this copy of herself.

In every way that mattered, she was his Peggy. Steve didn’t care that she’d come out of one of Howard’s machines. She lived and breathed, and at night between the sheets she smelled like the Peggy he knew and loved. 

She’d slipped into his life and then out so quickly, just like Bucky had. Steve swallowed, remembering that was another lost soul from his past that he needed to follow up on. 

“How do you know?” He asked, hoping Pepper had something to say that would ease the turmoil in his mind.

Pepper shrugged. “She just had a major blow to her identity. She has to figure out who she is before she can be Steve Roger’s girlfriend.”

And that sounded like the voice of experience, but Steve refrained from commenting on it. How many times had he seen Pepper dismissed as Tony Stark’s girlfriend? “Thank you,” he told her, appreciating the honesty. “Do you think she is coming back?”

“I’m sure of it.”

“Oh, hello, we’ve got news coverage.” Tony waved from across the room. 

Steve left his tea on the bar. “What?” He ran over just as Tony slid all of the screens away except for one.

A chatty news reporter stood in front of a coffee shop holding a bright red mic. Behind her activity swirled, and Steve saw two police officers leading a man away in handcuffs. The broadcast was already in progress. “...witnesses said a woman took down the assailant using only a coffee mug.”

It then flashed to pre-recorded video of an older dark-skinned man. “He had a knife, and I knew by looking in his eyes that this was not the kind of guy you reasoned with. And then, like an angel, she was there…”  
The feed cut again to a little girl speaking into the microphone. “I think she was one of the Avengers. She saved us!”

Once again the reporter appeared. “No word on who the mysterious woman was or where she went. Anyone with information please contact the NYPD…”

Tony cut the feed and Steve turned to face him. “That was Peggy?”

“Yep. Looks like the 21st century is no match for her.”

Steve grinned. Of course. He never should have doubted her ability to handle herself. “Where is she headed now?”

He’d keep watching from a distance. Steve respected her too much not to give her the space she needed. He hoped Pepper was right, and Peggy would return when she was ready. 

“Ms Carter just boarded the Bolt bus for Washington, DC.” Jarvis answered.

“What?” Tony pulled up another few screens. “Why is she going there?”

Steve swallowed, the smile gone from his face. “She’s going to talk to the original Peggy Carter.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Really sorry for the time this is taking. We are in the home stretch now though! Thank you to all who've left me feedback. I really really appreciate it!


	11. Interlude 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Phil and Clint square things.

Clint waited on the landing pad, watching as Phil ushered his chicks onto the Bus. There was no longer any reason for them to stay, since time travel had gotten taken off the table. Although Clint privately worried about Simmons, who seemed entirely too intrigued by Howard Stark’s copying machine.

Phil finally came and stood by Clint. Their fingers brushed together, and it sent warmth all the way to Clint’s toes. Things had gotten easier after last night. Phil had followed Clint up to his room after they’d returned from the club. It had been slow, but sweet and reminded Clint of why they were so good together.

They still had a long way to go, to rebuild all that had been broken and cracked between them. But at least Clint felt that now they were on the same path.

“The offer is still open. Come with me. Join my team.” Phil said, his eyes filled with emotion.

Yet it couldn’t be like it was. Clint didn’t think they could go back to being Strike Team Delta, and not just because Nat wasn’t joining them. The person he’d been before the helicarriers fell was long gone. SHIELD’s downfall had cut into his psyche, worse somehow than even being mind-controlled. It made Clint feel the fool.

So he had some issues to work out. It didn’t mean he had to do it without Phil.

“I will,” Clint said, surprising even himself. “But not now. Steve needs us, I think.” And Clint needed Steve and the others. A team was good like that.

Phil grinned. “She will come back. Those two are destined to be together.”

“Phil Coulson, closet romantic.”

“At this point I don’t think I’m fooling anyone.” Phil slid his arm around Clint’s waist and pulled him close. 

In front of his team and everyone. Clint felt honest to goodness butterflies in his belly. “Nah, they all know you are a marshmallow.”

They kissed, for a moment, just a brush of lips to hold them until next time. Clint vowed it would be sooner rather than later. He wouldn’t let Phil shut him out.

“When Peggy Carter comes back, and she will, you tell her she has a place with the new SHIELD.” Phil straightened his suit jacket as he stepped away, slipping into his Agent persona. “She can do it right this time.”

Clint thought she might be more likely to turn and run from anything even resembling a SHIELD logo. But he kept that to himself. Let Phil hope. “I’ll tell her. Go find your alien city. And blow it up.”

Phil nodded and gave him a smile, that one he reserved only for Clint. Then he followed the last of his crew onto the plane. Clint went to the flight deck to give Melinda clearance to take off - and to make sure she’d watch out for Phil.

Now he had to go and help Steve wait.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This will most likely be the last Phil and Clint interlude. Not too much left now.


	12. Shadow and Reflection

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peggy meets herself.

Peggy let Jarvis take care of getting her inside the medical facility. It turned out that Tony Stark’s name was good for quite a bit. Of course, it was also easy to play the relative of the woman she was about to see, although the nurse told Peggy how remarkable it was that she didn’t look a thing like Sharon.

Sharon, who? She wondered, only to have Jarvis’s voice in her ear supply the information without having to ask.

She hadn’t thought about the other Peggy’s family. During the long car ride she’d been immersed in the history of SHIELD, its rise and fall. Behind it all, the rotten core she could only lay at the feet of her other self. Of course, in hindsight, it seemed perfectly obvious not to hire on people who used to be your enemies. But she could picture herself doing it, and thinking it was out of compassion. 

Right. Now she was simply stalling. Peggy nodded to the smiling nurse, who opened the door and ushered her inside.

She skimmed the room quickly, noting the dark wood paneling, the effort to make this feel more like a home and less like a hospital. It took her a moment to focus on the elderly figure reclining in the bed, surrounded by several tables and surprisingly little medical equipment. Peggy saw the photos by the bedside, and recognized none of the figures except for herself. Or rather, the woman before her.

“You’re not Evelyn.” The other Peggy said in a surprisingly strong voice. She pushed herself up against the pillows and narrowed her eyes. “You’re far too young. You’re another one, then? Another duplicate?”

Peggy caught her breath. Of course. Howard had put the machine into storage knowing exactly what it did. The only way for him to have known that, for it to have been written in his journals, was if a copy had been made before. “The last,” she assured the elder. “Steve made sure it wouldn’t happen again.”

“Steve. He’s such a good boy.” 

“Tell me about the other one,” Peggy said, wondering what had happened to her fellow duplicate. “Evelyn?”

“Evie,” she snorted. “What is there to say about Evie? Her hands are just as dirty as mine. We mucked it all up, my dear.”

Peggy moved across the room and sat at the older woman’s bedside. Her fear had dissipated, but not her curiosity. “They told you, then? About SHIELD and Hydra?” She couldn’t imagine that conversation. 

“Steve likes to ramble. Doesn’t realize I can hear him sometimes.” She reached out and touched one of the framed photos by her bedside. “Have you seen my husband? Such a handsome man.”

Peggy lifted the picture, wondering who the man was. No one she had met yet, but clearly someone this Peggy had come to love very dearly. There was a child in the photo as well. Peggy’s child? She’d have to ask Jarvis later. This hadn’t been in the bio she’d read on the way down. “He is indeed very handsome.”

She handed the picture to the older woman, who’d held out her hand expectantly. 

“Who is this?” She demanded. “This isn’t my husband, I know his face, I would know his face….” Her words started out loud and angry, and the shouting ended in quiet tears that striped down her cheeks.

Peggy, her heart racing, poured a glass of water and tried to look useful while the older woman calmed. 

“Thank you, dear. Are you my nurse?” She blinked. “Have we met?”

Peggy opened her mouth to speak, and then shut it abruptly. What had she come here to find? This woman had lived a long life, and she’d left Steve behind a long time ago. Peggy felt a pang for Steve, who kept coming to visit a woman who only remembered bits and pieces of their past. 

“This is the first time we’ve met,” Peggy finally said. 

The elderly woman patted her hand. “You’re made of the same stuff as Steve, you know. Vita rays and luck.”

Peggy couldn’t help the laughter that bubbled up. Was this the closest she would come to getting a blessing? Did she want forgiveness for being with Steve, who had once belonged to this woman?

“Now, where is that young man?” 

“Who?” Peggy wondered where her thoughts had gotten to now.

“My nighttime visitor with the metal arm.”

***

Natasha lowered her sunglasses to get a better look as Peggy Carter came down the front steps of the institution. She didn’t know what else to call it. The entire place set her hackles raising, and she was self-aware enough to know why, but it didn’t make it any easier to bear.

A black car pulled up along the street right beside Peggy, who looked startled to see it. Natasha couldn’t hear the words exchanged, but saw the look of recognition on Peggy’s face right before she got into the car.

“Shit,” Natasha murmured. She tapped her communicator. “Clint, I’ve got eyes on car. Cadillac Limo, DC Plates. Can you run the number?”

Before she had finished speaking, she had hopped on her motorcycle and followed in pursuit. 

“What am I, your secretary?” Clint grumbled in her ear.

“You’re the closest thing I have to a handler right now, so get on it.”

“Only because you were the one who decided she needed following,” Clint retorted. “How was that four hour drive on the bike?”

She cursed at him in Russian, which only made him laugh. Natasha didn’t need to explain herself. Clint understood anyway. Steve was her friend, and Natasha wasn’t going to do nothing when she could help.

“The car is a ghost,” Clint’s voice grew serious. “Plates have a fake address, just enough to fool the cops, but not Jarvis.”

“Hydra?” Natasha gunned the accelerator to keep up. 

“I can’t answer that. Not yet. Just stay on her tail. I’ll get the others suited up.”

“She got in the car willingly. It was someone she recognized.” Natasha pointed out. “Don’t call in the big guns just yet. Let me handle this.”

“Who could she have possibly recognized?” Clint muttered.

“Hard as it is to believe, Clint, people actually live a long time.” Although Natasha couldn’t think of any of Steve’s octogenarian friends who had this kind of clout. But Peggy Carter had been a spy, and spies kept many secrets, not all of them their own.

***

Peggy had been deep in thought when the car had pulled up in front of her. For a moment she thought it had been sent by Tony Stark, and had been irritated. She’d told Jarvis she wanted to walk. But when the door opened and she saw the woman inside, Peggy knew this had nothing to do with Stark.

“Evelyn, I presume?” Peggy said as she slid into the leather seats opposite a woman who could be her mother.

Of course, Peggy’s mother had never dressed like this, in a sleek black pantsuit, wearing pumps with stiletto heels, and black leather gloves. The dark color highlighted the gray in her hair, though her face had weathered the time better. Her lips were pinched, though she still wore the red lipstick Peggy had always favored.

“I’m surprised the old bat remembered that much. Perhaps seeing you brought it all back.” Her voice cut like a knife.

Peggy leaned back, crossing her legs and assessing her duplicate. The first copy. She didn’t look ninety years old. Did that have something to do with the copying process or had Howard not brought her out of the machine for some time? Peggy had so many questions, but she had to play this carefully. She suspected Evelyn would not be very forthcoming. 

“Is it because of us? That she’s the way she is?”

“I’m sure your little science friends can figure that out.” Evelyn narrowed her eyes.

Ah, there it was. “You seem to have friends of your own.” Peggy knocked on the roof. 

“Ms Carter. I wish to inform you that Ms Romanov is directly behind the car. If you should need assistance, work the word ‘circus’ into the conversation.” Jarvis said quietly in her ear. Peggy had all but forgotten about the unobtrusive earpiece she still wore.

She didn’t react to his words, but she did continue to stare down her duplicate, to look for something in those hard eyes that stared back.

“Point.” Evelyn looked out the window as the scenery sped by. “Why did you go see her?”

“Why wouldn’t I?” Peggy retorted. “She was the only link to my origins…”

Evelyn snorted. “Didn’t you consider that too obvious? You’re a spy, for goodness sake. Think.”

“I didn’t think,” Peggy emphasized the word, “that anyone else knew of my existence. I certainly didn’t know of yours.”

“Is this where I tell you my life story? I suppose so.” Evelyn let out a tired sigh. “I don’t know which of us was more surprised when I appeared out of that machine. Of course, my existence proved incredibly useful, as long as it was kept secret. It always confounded our enemies when it seemed Peggy Carter could be in two places at once.”

Peggy couldn’t explain the coldness that washed over her. Some of that negative energy came from her duplicate, who seemed to lack any bit of warmth. “You worked in the shadows for her.”

“And I was damn good at it. No one at SHIELD even know I existed.”

Peggy thought about that older version, the original Peggy Carter, surrounded by mementos of family she couldn’t quite remember. “You never had any kind of life at all, did you? Being her shadow?”

Evelyn laughed. “What do you know of life? You’re an infant. I’ve lived through more wars, more movements than you can even imagine. I’ve watched the world change and yet somehow stay the same.” She fell back against her seat, looking weary. 

And the living had turned her into this bitter shell with the pinched lips and leather gloves. “You didn’t age as she did.” This Peggy grasped onto, a question she needed the answer to, for it was the key to her own fate.

“Of course not. We are not human, you and I, despite appearances.”

Peggy recoiled at that. It touched upon so many of her own fears. “You know that for certain?”

“As certain as I could be without that machine.” 

Was that the entire reason for this meeting? This game? To get ahold of Howard’s machine? “I’m afraid you’ll have to ask Tony Stark if you wish to borrow it.”

“There’s another problem. Tony Stark knows you exist. As do the rest of the Avengers. And Steve Rogers.”

Just the sound of Steve’s name had Peggy flushing, heat rising against her neck and cheeks. “Is that what this is about? Steve?”

Evelyn shook her head, the look on her face almost pitying. “I haven’t forgotten what it was like to love him, you know. But he’s a very different man now than the one you knew. You can’t trust him.”

Peggy barked a laugh at that. “Not trust Steve?”

“Did he tell you about Bucky?”

“Of course he told me about Bucky.” Peggy met Evelyn’s gaze square on, to hide the fact that Steve hadn’t mentioned Bucky at all. But why would he, unless…?

“Really? He told you that James Barnes is on the run after being used as an assassin by Hydra for the past seventy years?”

“What do you think?” Peggy didn’t flinch, though her heart pounded so loud she was certain Evelyn could hear it.

She snorted. “I don’t think Steve Rogers said a damn thing about the one person he’d put before his best girl.”

The words were mocking, but Evelyn didn’t understand. Of course Steve hadn’t told her that Bucky was alive. If she’d returned to her own time the first thing she would have done was look for him. Save him from whatever fate led him to live 70 years under Hydra’s boot. She itched to ask, but Peggy kept the lid on her curiosity for now. She would not show weakness before this woman.

“What’s the point of this entire conversation? Or did you just want to stop me from having a relationship with Steve?” She watched that barb hit with more satisfaction that she should have. 

“The point is that you, Peggy Carter, don’t exist. There’s no place for you in this bold new world because she,” Evelyn pointed out the darkened car window, “Has it. I’m offering you a place with me. Work with my organization. Do what you tried to do 70 years ago. Make this a better world.”

“You want me to be your shadow?” 

“Out of the shadows and into the light,” Evelyn replied, almost absently.

The words crawled along Peggy’s skin, because she knew she’d read that phrase recently. And it was not good. She made her decision quickly. “If you expect me to be a part of whatever circus you’ve created, you don’t know me as well as you think.”

Evelyn opened her mouth to speak, but before she could say a word the car came to a screeching halt. She knocked on the separation between their compartment and the driver. “What’s going on?”

“I believe my ride has arrived.” Peggy lunged for the door, unlocking it and throwing it open before Evelyn could react. She stumbled onto the street, just as a motorbike started up beside the car. Recognizing Natasha and holding tight to her bag, Peggy took a leap of faith and hopped on behind her as the bike sped by.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for taking this journey with me! Just one more chapter after this, I believe.


	13. Endgame

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Words are said.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you everyone who commented. I'll try to catch up with comments after I post the next and last installment. I really appreciate your kind words!
> 
> Only an epilogue left after this!

“You’ve landed on smaller spaces, Clint. Need I remind you of Mumbai?”

Natasha had driven them up to the top level of a parking garage. Peggy stood at the ledge, looking down at the city below. This world had so many cars that they needed their own buildings.

She placed her hands on the concrete wall, needing to feel something solid. The entire conversation with Evelyn had been so surreal. How many people had the opportunity to talk to their own dark reflection? 

“Clint’s on his way,” Natasha said, breaking into Peggy’s thoughts. “I told him to come alone. I don’t think you want to talk to Rogers yet?”

Not until she had all of this sorted out in her mind. “No. Thank you. That was kind of you.”

Natasha waited a beat, then joined Peggy looking out over the horizon. Peggy had never quite known what to make of the other woman. Maybe now that she was privy to all the secrets of the past, she could learn Steve’s history with her. 

“Who was in the car?” 

“She called herself Evelyn. But she was...me. Of a sort. She was Howard’s first duplicate.” It helped, to speak of it. “But there was something wrong about her. Jarvis,” Peggy said before Natasha could respond, “Was there any mention of an Evelyn Carter in SHIELD’s files?”

“It will take me some time to analyze all of SHIELD’s data,” Jarvis said apologetically. “I will begin looking immediately.”

“Thank you.”

“You’ve seem to have made good friends with our resident AI.” Peggy threw her a confused look. Natasha clarified, “Artificial Intelligence. Jarvis.”

Peggy decided not to mention that she found his voice soothing, that it was like a connection to one of the dearest friends she’d ever had. “I’m going to have to adapt quickly,” she said instead. “As it appears I’m now a full resident of the future.”

“And we’re happy to have you.” Natasha flashed a smile her way that Peggy returned. Then her expression changed. “But we need to talk about this ‘Evelyn.’”

“All right,” Peggy conceded. “And then you will tell me about Bucky.”

Natasha stiffened, ever so slightly, but the nodded. She listened intently as Peggy told her about the encounter, absorbing everything.

“Of course she ages slower, the vita radiation…” Natasha trailed off. “And she’s been working in the shadows of SHIELD all this time? Jarvis, I’m going to need to look at that data you pull for Agent Carter.” 

“Just Peggy, please.” She was just Peggy now. Of course, she could choose a new name for herself, but she recoiled from that. What had made Evelyn do that? Had she wanted to distance herself in every way from the original? 

“Peggy,” Natasha corrected. “I have a hunch that Evelyn’s hands are all over Hydra’s infestation of SHIELD. It makes too much sense.”

So Evelyn had done everything she could to undermine the original Peggy’s work. Peggy clenched her fists. “I have the sudden desire to punch someone.”

“That can be arranged.” Natasha grinned, then sobered quickly. “What I can’t understand is why she played her hand so quickly.”

“Did she? I believe this is the opening gambit of a very long game. Remember how long she’s lived. She threw some bait my way and she’s going to watch what I do.”

“And that is?”

“It depends on what you’re going to tell me about Bucky Barnes.”

Natasha didn’t mince words. She told the whole tale without having a care for Peggy’s feelings. Now she had to get used to not being treated differently because of her sex. Thankfully, Natasha didn’t comment about the tears streaming down her cheeks.

Peggy wiped at her face and turned away. “Oh, my poor boys.”

“After Steve recovered from his injuries he started to look for Bucky, but the trail had gone cold. That’s when he and Sam decided to ask Stark for help. And ended up finding you in the process.”

Peggy’s immediate reaction was the desperate need to do something. She had to fix this, somehow. Then she recoiled. Is this how Evelyn had gone down her dark path? Her own desperate bid at doing something?

If she second guessed every decision based on what she thought Evelyn would do, Peggy would never come to any conclusions at all.

“You know,” Natasha said, leaning over the rail and staring into the city. “When you first showed up...I didn’t know what I was expecting. I know better than to believe the stories i was told, and yet…”

“Stories?” The change in topic had Peggy shaking her head to catch up. She had to get used to her life being public knowledge, both the part she’d lived, and the bit that belonged only to her duplicates. They were twisted twins in that.

Natasha met her gaze briefly before looking away, and Peggy was startled by the first honest flash of emotion she’d seen in the other woman’s eyes. “I grew up in Russia. Well. I was trained in Russia. I didn’t exactly have a childhood.”

The sudden realization had Peggy sucking in a breath. “You were like one of those little girls.”  
Of course, Natasha couldn’t know what she meant, but she found Natasha nodding.

“That wasn’t the first time you - or rather the other you - encountered one of us - them.” She made an irritated gesture. “It’s all public record now, like my entire life.”

“As is mine,” Peggy said. 

“Yes. So you can read all about what I’ve done.”

Peggy didn’t miss the bitter note in her voice. “I don’t know. I’d prefer to get to know you the old fashioned way.”

There was a pause then, “I think I know what Rogers sees in you.”

Inexplicably, Peggy found herself blushing. Fortunately, she didn’t have to reply, as the sound of engines heralded the arrival of a plane that hovered over the parking garage before landing smoothly. She shook her head, wondering if she’d ever stop marveling at the incredible advances in technology. 

She followed Natasha up the ramp and onto the plane. Clint greeted them both. “How’d it go?”

“Peggy met her evil twin.” 

“Did she have a goatee?”

Natasha punched him in the shoulder and he winced. “That’s a reference she doesn’t know.”

“Yet,” he insisted. “I’m planning on arranging a Trek marathon once we’re all in the same room again. It’s culturally significant.”

“You just don’t want them to know what a big dork you are.” A smile played about her lips. 

Peggy watched the two of them, the way they teased each other like siblings. She knew there wasn’t anything romantic between them - she’d seen Clint and Phil Coulson together. And in this future it seemed that wasn’t anything they needed to hide, and for a moment she felt a hint of sadness for the women she’d known in the auxiliary who had to hide their relationships.

This was indeed a bold new world, and she itched to explore it now that she could. Perhaps it didn’t matter that she didn’t quite know where she fit. She couldn’t define herself using either the other Peggy or Evelyn as a measuring stick. To have such choices - it was overwhelming, but it made her heart pound with anticipation.

“So,” Clint said. “Where are we headed? I got the QuinJet all gassed up. Paris? Tokyo? Ooooh, Rio?”

His words startled her. “I thought we were going back to New York?”

He exchanged a look with Natasha and Peggy could almost see a novel’s worth of words pass between the two of them. “We thought you might want some time to, you know, think and stuff.”

What Peggy wanted was to find Steve and ask him a million questions. She needed to dig into those files and find out the truth about Evelyn. And maybe, just maybe, she could help Steve find Bucky.

What she said was: “At this point, I’d rather just go home.”

“Well, in that case…” Clint grinned and went off to forage for something. He returned with a box. “I’m supposed to buzz Tony before I give you this.”

Natasha frowned. “What’s this?” 

“You think he tells me?” Clint waved at a screen on the wall. “Jarvis, connect the call.”

Peggy had to admit her curiosity was piqued. 

“Hey, sis.” Tony Stark’s visage appeared. He grinned brightly, and had a slightly manic look about him. Come to think of it, had Peggy ever seen him not looking quite like that?

“I beg your pardon?”

“Perhaps I should have led with the good news. You’ll find that Clint has in his hotshot little hands a box with new identity documents for you. Birth Certificate, driver’s license, passport, both American and British I might add. The world will know you as Peggy Stark, my previously unknown half-sister.”

Natasha stepped forward, “And when someone in the press notes how much she looks like Peggy Carter?”

He waved a hand. “Give her a new haircut and new makeup. No one will notice.”

Peggy saw a far bigger issue. “Making me a Stark is terribly generous of you. Far too generous.” That would make her heir to an incredibly large fortune, one that she had no intention of accepting.

“My dad created you,” Stark pointed out. “That does kind of make you his daughter. And I have an obligation to fix what the old man screwed up. Besides, it was Pepper’s idea. Those are usually good ones.”

“Well, then tell Pepper I said thank you.” Peggy put her hand over her heart, as if she could feel it swell. 

_You think I’m real. I’m a person deserving to be called ‘sister’._

She shouldn’t have been surprised at the tears that prickled behind her eyes. 

“Are you crying? There’s no crying in baseball! Or identity paperwork.” Tony started to flail. 

“It’s been a very long day.” Peggy swiped at her eyelids and cleared her throat. “I’m looking forward to coming back to the tower and getting some sleep.”

“Good, there’s a blond meathead pounding some bags in the gym. I’m sure he’ll be very glad to see you.” 

Peggy heard Pepper’s voice exclaim “Tony” in the background right before the video cut out. She swallowed and turned toward Clint and Natasha. “Well, what are we waiting for? Let’s go home.”

***

Steve set down his sketchbook and moved to his faux window, looking out over a skyline that hadn’t existed for 70 years. If he really wanted to see the city, he could go to the roof, or one of the balconies. But it wouldn’t help. 

Two hours in the gym hadn’t eased his restlessness, and he’d only retreated there when Tony mocked him for not trusting Natasha. Of course he trusted her - no one else he knew could keep up with Peggy but Natasha.

It wasn’t so much that he was worried for Peggy’s safety - although, yes, that too occupied his mind. He just didn’t know what to expect when she got back.

What if she’d decided to move on?

Steve couldn’t blame her. There was a large world out there, more fascinating and yet more troubled than the one they’d left behind.

He sat back down on the couch and dropped his head in his hands. He admitted he was selfish enough to want her to come back to him. Like him, she was out of her own time. Like him, she’d have to make a new life in this future world. Was it so wrong to want to do it together?

It caused a pang of guilt at his disloyalty to the original Peggy. But she’d lived her life, married and moved on. Steve was still stuck in love with her, but she hadn’t been his Peggy in a very long time.

“Captain Rogers? Ms Carter is approaching the door.”

“Thank you, Jarvis.” Steve shook out his hair and got to his feet. 

To his surprise, there was a gentle knock on the door. Steve cleared his throat. “Come in.”

The door slid open and Peggy walked in. She wore an oversized hoodie and a pair of standard issue tac pants she must have borrowed from Natasha. Her hair had been pulled back into an untidy knot. Steve thought she looked amazing.

“Hi,” he said stupidly, then shuffled in embarrassment. All these years and he still couldn’t talk to ‘dames.’ The memory of that conversation could still make him blush. “You’re back.”

“Yes.” She said. “I wish you’d been the one who told me about Bucky.”

Her words shocked him. “Who told you? Natasha?” No, she wouldn’t, but who?

“Evelyn.”

“Who?”

“My evil twin, according to Clint.” Peggy rubbed her forehead. “Although to be fair, we’re not entirely sure she’s evil. I just don’t feel up to sorting through the evidence tonight.”

“Not tonight, but maybe tomorrow?” Steve couldn’t help a flare of hope. If he could get Peggy to stay, they’d figure all of this out, later. But he’d have her by his side, the partner he’d been missing like a phantom limb.

“Well,” she said, “That depends on a great many things.”

Steve held himself very still. “Oh? What things?”

Peggy shook her head. “I’m not her, for starters. You must understand that.”

“I know that,” He said angrily. “She lived her life without me.”

“I won't be her replacement either.” Peggy snapped. She stepped forward and put her hand over his lips. “You must care for me for who I am now not because I resemble her. Bloody hell, I’m still not sure I’m entirely human."

“You’re human enough for me.” He took the hand she’d placed on his mouth and held it, not letting her go, not even for a moment. “Besides, I checked with Bruce. He said the only difference between you and anyone else is the amount of vita radiation in your blood. And you know who else has an insane amount of Vita radiation in their blood? Me. So we’re kinda a pair.”

“It’s not going to be easy.”

He snorted. “You know me. When have I ever done anything because it was easy?”

That made her laugh, and the sound brightened Steve’s spirit. Then she grew serious. “I need to gather my things. Tony offered me a flat of my own.”

Steve tightened his grip on her hand. “What? You - you don’t need to leave.”

“We met in wartime. That changes how a relationship develops. I used to think about this, after you went into the ice, I’d wonder if we ever could have made something together if you’d come home. Or if it had all been just...passion.”

Now that made him blush. “Are you just saying you want to take things slow?”

“I still don’t know who I am,” she protested. “But I think I wouldn’t mind learning with you.”

“I’m perfectly okay with that.” It wasn’t a ‘no, I never want to see you again’ so Steve counted it as a win. Still…”Stay here tonight. It’s too late to go scrambling for another apartment. Let me make you breakfast in the morning.”

“Then we’ll talk about Bucky. And whatever other secrets you’ve been hiding.”

“I expect some of your secrets in return.” He brushed his lips against hers, just a touch. He’d honor her request to take things slow. 

“Of course.”

“Now let’s go to bed.”


	14. Epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peggy, the Avenger.

Epilogue

Peggy watched the footage split into several smaller screens. While she appreciated the fact that Jarvis could project on an entire wall, sometimes she liked to see things on a much smaller scale. “Wait. Lower right screen. Freeze that image.”

She shouldn’t get her hopes up. There had been false alarms before. But this time the intel seemed good. And when she zoomed in close Peggy’s heart started to race.

Those eyes, that divot in his chin, those lips - she knew them well. But the most striking thing about the image was that he was looking directly into the security camera. James “Bucky” Barnes damn well knew where the cameras were. 

Was he taunting them? Giving them a glimpse after his trail had long gone cold? Or, perhaps, did he want to be found?

“Jarvis, how old is this image?”

“Twenty minutes, Ms. Carter.”

She got up out of the chair and started to pace the room. Sometimes she needed movement, and this was one of those times. Peggy needed to think. She’d spent the past several months on the search for Bucky, interspersed with her work for the Avengers, and he’d never downright challenged her like this before.

Was it a challenge? Or maybe, was it a sign that he was ready to come in? Either way, this wasn’t an opportunity she could pass up. “Jarvis, where is Steve?”

“Downstairs in the war room, Ms. Carter.”

She made for the lift. The war room meant only one thing - a mission, or preparing for a mission. And if she hadn’t been called in as well, then it must not be something that Peggy had her hand in. That meant Avenger business.

As the door opened onto the floor, she caught sight of all of them, fully suited up in their uniforms as they emerged from the war room, Steve in the lead, of course. 

She still felt a flutter in her heart every time she saw him. Their relationship was progressing slowly after that first flash when she stepped into this world. It had taken her longer than she’d liked for Peggy to grow accustomed to the future. There was so much history to catch up on. And no matter how many movie nights Clint hosted, she was sure she’d never understand all of Tony’s pop culture references. 

“Peggy, is something wrong?” Steve stopped and put his hands on her shoulders. 

“Not wrong.” Well, not unless you counted the wrongness of Bucky staring at the security camera. “I think I’ve found him, Steve.”

His jaw tightened, and she recognized the stubborn set to his eyes. “Where?”

“California as of twenty minutes ago. I think if I hurry I might be able to catch the trail before it grows cold.”

Steve hesitated for a moment. Then he said, “Good. Take Sam with you.”

“Steve? You’re not coming.” Of course not, they were obviously kitted out for something else. 

“Coulson finally found Loki’s staff. If we don’t move now, they might bury it deeper. We have to get it out of Hydra’s hands.” 

He sounded like he was trying to convince himself. She knew Steve well enough to see how this was tearing him up. But he would never shirk his duty. Finding this staff was important, she knew, although she’d only seen the destruction it had wrought in its aftermath. That was a weapon that could not be kept in evil hands. Steve would sacrifice finding Bucky for that.

But he didn’t have to. Peggy could carry this burden. “I will call you when I find him.” 

“Thank you.” Some of the weight seemed to fall off of his shoulders.

Peggy leaned forward to kiss him gently, ignoring the hoots from Tony Stark. “Be careful. That goes for all of you,” she added as she pulled away. Something about this mission bothered her, and she wanted all of her new friends safe. 

Tony gave her a salute. “Don’t worry, sis. We’re ready for this.”

He took every opportunity to needle her by calling her that. Peggy pretended that it irritated her. It seemed to make him happy, even after the nightmare that had been the publicity when her ‘identity’ had been revealed. Her hand went up to touch her shorn hair, still not quite used to the shorter length.

“I’ll keep them all in line,” Natasha swore, prodding Clint toward the lift.

Peggy knew that would be true. She watched them go with a lump in her throat. All missions were dangerous. 

It was time to go on one of her own.

“Jarvis, call Sam Wilson. Tell him we have a mission.”

END

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank all of you who stuck with this story for this long! It was my first time posting a WIP and sometimes I really needed your comments and your kudos to continue. I'd like to write more in this universe, but I don't have immediate plans for that right now. 
> 
> As always, feel free to translate, create art for, remix, etc my work, but remember to send me an email or note! You can find me as epeeblade practically everywhere, including tumblr, DW and LJ.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm typically an m/m writer. But for some reason, I can't shake Peggy/Steve. 
> 
> I hope to update soon. This will probably be jossed (hee) by Ultron, but it's okay:)
> 
> Also, I prefer constructive type feedback be sent privately.


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